A retired soldier who served in Afghanistan with a former soldier suspected of killing his wife, daughter and mother before turning a gun on himself says that Lionel Desmond was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder and insufficient veterans’ services.
“He was not a monster,” Trevor Bungay told CTV News Channel on Thursday. “He was a Canadian hero who fought for his country and lost his battle.”
Desmond, 33, was found dead in his house in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S., on Tuesday, along with his wife Shanna Desmond, 31, their daughter Aaliyah, 10, and his mother Brenda Desmond, 52. All died from apparent gunshot wounds. Authorities are treating the case as a triple murder-suicide.
Bungay said that news of the deaths has left him shaken.
“I was devastated, angry, sad, disgusted -- disgusted at this country, about how we look at the stigma of post-traumatic stress, and how we treat it. And it needs to stop.”
According to Bungay, Desmond suffered from PTSD as a result of his 2007 deployment to Afghanistan. In 2014, Desmond was posted to the military’s Joint Personal Support Unit, which offers programs and support for ill and injured armed forces members, where he spent a year before being released from the military in 2015. But Desmond’s struggles with PTSD didn’t end there, Bungay said.
Bungay, who originally hails from Newfoundland, served 17 years in the Royal Canadian Regiment’s 2nd Battalion and was deployed on missions to countries including Bosnia, Haiti and Afghanistan. The battalion saw heavy fighting and casualties in Afghanistan, which left Bungay with his own internal scars.
Bungay, who was a master-corporal when he served as Desmond’s team leader in Afghanistan, said that they often spoke about their mutual struggles with PTSD upon returning home to Canada.
“I always check in with guys that I served with in Afghanistan to make sure they’re still good,” Bungay said. “Unfortunately, within the last two months, we haven’t touched base -- and he slipped through.”
Bungay left the military in 2014, and now serves as the vice president of Trauma Healing Centers, a network of private clinics with locations in Ontario and the Maritimes. With funding from Veterans Affairs Canada, the centres offer medical marijuana to veterans and first responders living with PTSD and chronic pain, as well as counselling, medical support, dietary consultation and massage therapy.
“There’s just not enough healthcare professionals out there to see everybody in a timely fashion,” Bungay said. “Somebody in Desmond’s case, for example, needs to be seen every single week – at least… And he never had that opportunity.”
Desmond’s relatives told CTV Atlantic that the former soldier sought mental health support after returning to Nova Scotia, but was turned away from at least one facility.
“You know, we have many cuts that have been happening through Veterans Affairs Canada,” Bungay said.
Bungay believes the apparent murder-suicide should serve as a wake-up call for how the Canadian Armed Forces deals with combat veterans.
“There (are) thousands and thousands of people out there who are suffering behind closed doors with post-traumatic stress because they’re scared to come out and say something,” Bungay said.
“And, you know, Lionel was a very happy person. He always had a smile on his face. He was never angry. He would always do anything you ever asked to help. He was always poking and making jokes and making people feel good. And whatever happened in the last few days, that was not Lionel Desmond.”
With files from CTV News Channel, CTV Atlantic and The Canadian Press
