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It was a heinous crime that rocked the city of St. Catharines and beyond. It’s four years ago this month that 77-year old Livia Beirnes was tied up by an intruder inside her Merritton home and then the house was set on fire. And tonight, her daughter Naomi is begging anyone who has any information on who murdered her mother to come forward.
Livia Beirnes had been living alone in her home on Oakwood Avenue in St. Catharines. Her daughter Naomi says she was a nice, kind gracious woman who was always cautious about letting strangers into her house: “If for some reason she had a service person coming in, she’d say I’ve got somebody coming over at 3:30. Could you call me at 4:00. Make sure I’m okay.”
On August 4th 2010, an intruder got inside Livia Beirnes home. They tied her up in the basement and set her home on fire. She was trapped.
Naomi: “And that’s how she dies. That’s how she dies. She dies yelling for help. The next door neighbour tried to save her. She says, I’m tied up in the basement. Help me. Help me. I’m tied up in the basement. I can’t get out.”
At the hospital, Naomi was begging her mother to live: “Just weeping over her. Please come back to us. Please come back to us mom. Please come back to us.”
For four years, Naomi and her brother Varley have been asking who would murder their 77-year old mother: “Who targeted a lovely, naturopath, walked everywhere mom. And snuffed her life out like that.”
The killer, or killers are still out there: “You killed our mother. You killed a lovely woman. You snuffed out her life. I know the person has to have talked. I can’t see how they could have kept this secret for four years.”
“How such a good person could be killed in such a heinous way. Tied up. House burned. Her yelling ‘come help me. I can’t get out of the house.’ That’s how she died. That’s her last moment on earth.”
Naomi is tormented by the fact she can’t call her mother. She couldn’t say good-bye. And the person who murdered her, is still out there.
It may be four years, but Niagara police homicide detectives say this is certainly not a cold case. This is still very active. And as Naomi Beirnes has said, she believes there are people out there who know who murdered their mother.
