"I spent all my savings": Murdered Canadian woman's family speaks out over airline, booking site fight
A Canadian family had planned to fly to BC for the sentencing of a man accused of killing their family member. However, after the trial date was moved, they said they’d been in a tedious back-and-forth battle with a travel agency that refused to rebook their flight.
“I spent all my savings and everything to try and find our daughter,” Ashley Simpson’s father, John Simpson, said.
“Now we’re faced with this stupid dilemma.”
In hopes of finding closure for the nearly eight-year-long nightmare, Ashley’s family expected to attend the sentencing of her boyfriend, Derek Favell, on February 14. Favell has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Missing People of Canada/Facebook
However, the family says they were informed in January that the sentencing date would be moved. BC Prosecution Service confirmed with Daily Hive the Gladue report for Favell was not completed in time for the scheduled sentencing hearing. The sentencing has been adjourned to June 12.
John told Daily Hive that he paid for a roundtrip for Ashley’s mother, two sisters, nephew, and a close friend from Toronto, Ontario, to Kamloops, BC, so they could read their victim impact statements in person. But when they got the news the trial date moved, John said the family immediately contacted the travel agency they used to book their WestJet flights, FlightHub.
The travel agency allegedly asked for proof the family was attending a trial, and John said they forwarded a crown attorney’s letter about Ashley’s case.
Despite sending the documents about three weeks ago, John said, “The only response we got back from them [on Tuesday, February 13]… was that they weren’t going to reimburse or rebook the flight.”
“I just forked over $1,500 for tickets,” John added.
A financially draining search for closure
When Ashley Simpson went missing in 2016 in BC’s Shuswap region, her father paid thousands of dollars in group and drone searches to try and find her. In addition, he says he’s paid for the flights to and from Ontario to BC for years. Tragically, the 32-year-old’s remains were found five years after her disappearance in 2021 in a wilderness area outside of Salmon Arm, the RCMP reported.
The search, combined with the trial of his daughter, left him bankrupt, John said.
The financial burden he’s taken on over the years is why he even decided he would not fly out for the sentencing with his family, he said.
“I wasn’t going to go out because I’ve spent enough money and pain and suffering with this case,” John said. “I just want to be done with it. And then it seems that I’m still not done with it. I’m still not finished paying.”
John called it a “travesty,” adding he is on a pension.
“I don’t [know] how the government of BC expects me to fly on a whim back and forth whenever they decide.”
However, no matter if he lost the money on the flights, John said it would not prevent him from sending his family to BC for the next trial date.
“Some of my family… needs closure,” he said.
“We need to get on with our lives. We can’t have too many more interruptions. We were a great loving family at one time; now we’re diminished to just [trying to get by], trying to succeed in life and trying to avoid any setback that we get. But we’re doing it. We’re not giving up on anything. So this is what we’re going to do. Just get it done.”
Carol LaBoucan/Facebook
How his family will get to BC in the summer, John said he is not sure.
While Canadians have donated money to the family over the years to help them, John said he is “tired of asking people for money and support.”
“I don’t think that it should be warranted,” he said. “I think the BC government systems should be more fair to the victim than to the guilty. I mean, it seems [Favell] gets all the breaks. And we’re the ones that gotta travel across the country to bear witness to his atrocity for my daughter.”
“Passed the buck”
Ashley’s mother, Cindy Simpson, told Daily Hive her daughter Rose Simpson and her have attempted to reach out to FlightHub and WestJet; however, she said both companies weren’t able to resolve their issue.
Cindy said FlightHub and WestJet “passed the buck,” adding that both agencies claimed they needed to wait on the other to make changes.
In a response to Daily Hive, FlightHub said, the basic fare tickets the Simpson family purchased “do not permit modifications, as per the airline’s policy.”
“We empathize with the Simpson family’s challenging circumstances. Despite receiving a letter from the assistant Crown attorney, we’ve diligently approached WestJet for a waiver, and shared the letter with them. Regrettably, our requests have been consistently denied, citing the nature of the Basic economy tickets,” FlightHub wrote in an email statement.
“Given the airline’s policies, we regret to inform you that the Simpson family will need to obtain new tickets for their journey. We understand the difficulties this presents and are committed to providing support within the constraints of the established rules of the airline.”
However, a spokesperson for WestJet told Daily Hive the airline was not made aware of the Simpsons’ travel woes until media requests this week and “immediately escalated it.”
After Daily Hive reached out, WestJet said it was able to connect with the Simpson family. WestJet added it reached out to the third party, FlightHub, to arrange a rebooking or refund.
“But we’re just dealing with a bit of back and forth… as it was booked through a third party, we do not have the ability to do it ourselves on our end… So that’s [the] kind of issue we’re running into. But we are going to work with the appropriate parties to make sure that we resolve it,” the spokesperson said.
Cindy confirmed WestJet contacted the family, and their tickets were rebooked. She said the airline offered an apology and condolences.
“But FlightHub had nothing to do with us getting rebooked,” Cindy emphasized, adding the family has not heard back from the travel agency.
Despite the challenges, “the stress relief is amazing,” Cindy said, as the family can make it to the upcoming trial date.
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