British actor in tears as wife killed and young child injured in Vancouver attack
A British actor has bravely spoken out following the death of his wife when a car rammed into a crowd of festivalgoers. Noel Johansen fought back tears as she spoke of his costume designer wife Jenifer Darbellay, 50, at a vigil in Vancouver, Canada.
An Audi SUV drove into crowds gathered at a festival to honour Filipino heritage. Eleven people were killed and dozens injured.
The horror unfolded at the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday evening, near East 41st Avenue and Fraser Street.
Noel, who has starred in Psych, Supernatural, Fargo and The Good Doctor, was also injured, along with his seven-year-old daughter Darby. His son Ford, 15, also attended the festival.
He was on crutches as he attended the vigil on Monday. "What you see here is an injury that means nothing to me because what's inside my heart is broken," he told the crowd.
"Because my wife passed away behind me at the incident. She never celebrated herself in her life. She never thought of herself; she thought of herself as small in terms of the reach.
"And I can tell you she was larger than life for any of you who know her. So don't be small in life, be big, reach out and reach out as a human being with everything you have, and please remember us who went through this."
Noel is best known for his work in Hallmark movies including Garage Sale Mystery: All That Glitters, When Calls the Heart, Chesapeake Shores, Harvest Love, Reunited at Christmas and Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by his friend and business partner to help provide support to the family. Michael Daingerfield said: "I am literally in shock as I write this - but I want to do something for Noel and his two children Ford, 15, and Darby, 7.
"This is an incredibly difficult time for Noel, and moving forward with his life is going to feel insurmountable.
"Jen was a one-of-a-kind. She was an incredibly thoughtful, warm, caring, smart, stylish, artistic woman. A gifted painter, a selfless mother, and a loving wife. She gave the best hugs, was always there to listen without judgement, and had the sweetest voice.
"She was not only special to me and my family (wife and kids), but she was special to many other friends and people - giving of herself volunteering on the PAC committee at Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Darby's school."
The victims included nine females and two males, with ages ranging from five to 65. Up to 100,000 revellers were celebrating the Lapu-Lapu festival when the attack occurred.
A 30-year-old man was arrested and the case is not being treated as terrorism. Seven victims were also taken to hospital in a critical condition while three were in a serious condition.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rhyl Journal
23 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Two men charged with murder after teenage pedestrian died in ‘hit-and-run'
Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Amaan Ahmed, 26, both of Locke Drive, Sheffield, have been charged in relation to the death of Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi, 16, South Yorkshire Police said. The teenager was walking along Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield on Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by a car. It is understood that a grey Audi had driven towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider, the force said. As the car continued after the crash, it collided with Abdullah. The teenager died in hospital. The driver of the Audi failed to stop at the scene, police said. The 18-year-old man riding an electric bike suffered serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening. He remains in hospital. Two people, a man, aged 46, and a woman, aged 45, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender remain on police bail. The two men who have been charged will appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Monday. Abdullah had recently arrived in the UK from Yemen 'for a better future', his family said. Relatives and friends of Abdullah said he was devoted to his family and would 'light up their faces with a big smile'. He arrived in the UK from Yemen two or three months ago, and had devoted himself to learning English ahead of starting at college in September. Abdullah's relative Saleh Alsirkal runs the corner shop on Staniforth Road which the teenager visited just before the crash. He said that he had a hospital appointment earlier in the afternoon and popped into the store, as he often did, before heading off to find some food. Mr Alsirkal said: 'His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything.' Mr Alsirkal said Abdullah was a 'kind boy' who just wanted to look after his family. He said he was really enjoying learning English. 'Every time he had a new word to learn he was so excited about it,' he said. 'It meant a lot to him and he learned quick. Sometimes he would stay in the shop just so he could talk to people. He tried to be friends with everyone.'
Wales Online
42 minutes ago
- Wales Online
BBC's The Gold analysed and what happened to other half of the Brink's-Mat loot
BBC's The Gold analysed and what happened to other half of the Brink's-Mat loot The Gold season 2 concludes the story of the Brink's-Mat heist WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Gold on BBC Season two of The Gold premieres on the BBC today (June 8) and dramatises the infamous Brink's-Mat heist of 26 November 1983, where six armed robbers made off with three tonnes of solid gold bullion worth £26 million from a security depot near Heathrow Airport, reports the Express. The show weaves fact and fiction to recount the audacious theft, with creator Neil Forsyth commenting about the new outing: "This series follows the second half of the Brink's-Mat gold and it's also a story of the consequences faced by several of our key characters across the entire show. I always saw The Gold as a two-series show, following the two halves of the gold, so this will be the final series." The story picks up the story from the first outing, which first aired back in 2023. As fans will remember, season one ended with police officer Nicki Jennings making a huge revelation: "We thought we'd stopped them. We thought we'd stopped all of them. There was more to come, more gold, more money but he said he'd finished." She gestured towards the sum of £13 million displayed on a board, suggesting that only half of the stolen wealth was accounted for, with the remainder being divided at the outset of the robbery. Article continues below Detective Chief Inspector Brian Boyce (portrayed by Hugh Bonneville) confirmed this with a simple acknowledgement: "I know." As the episode concluded, the investigative team appeared poised to delve into the mystery of the missing gold's whereabouts. John and Marnie Palmer will be living it up in The Gold series 2 (Image: BBC ) What happened to the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold? Despite extensive efforts, the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold has never been recovered by law enforcement. Rumours persist that the unrecovered gold eventually re-entered the legitimate gold market. It was even reported by police that some of the purloined gold was sold back to its original owner, Johnson Matthey. There have been suggestions that any gold jewellery purchased after 1983 could potentially be from the stolen loot. As per BBC News, some of the gold is believed to have disappeared into the criminal underworld, later resurfacing in foreign bank accounts in places such as Miami, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Tony Brightwell and Nicki Jennings return for The Gold series 2 (Image: BBC ) It's reported that a portion of the gold was melted down by a British businessman. The proceeds from the gold travelled globally as the money was laundered and disassociated from the stolen haul. Funds from the gold were later invested in the property development boom in London Docklands. Some of the money from the gold was used to purchase a former section of Cheltenham Ladies' College, which was then converted into flats and sold off, according to The Independent. The Gold is based on the Brink's-Mat heist (Image: BBC ) Even decades post-heist, the police continued to investigate the whereabouts of the missing gold, but it seems most of those involved in the Brink's-Mat robbery escaped justice and the gold will regrettably never be recovered. This is due to the operation being executed with precision and a highly sophisticated money laundering process in place to cleanse the gold and the money as swiftly as possible. Lead star Bonneville said of the new episodes: 'In series two we see the ripple effect of even more gold being smelted and even more money being laundered. 'Our principal characters return and we see the effect the gold is having on them and the impact the proceeds of the robbery has around the world. 'Because the money is spreading so far and wide it proves increasingly difficult for Boyce and his team to keep up, especially as their operation - already criticised for being the most expensive in police history - is facing pressure to scale back in the face of limited results. 'As far as his superiors are concerned, Boyce hasn't put enough of the bad guys behind bars.' Hugh Bonneville as Brian Boyce in The Gold (Image: BBC ) The Downton Abbey star detailed how, in reality, the police investigation continued for at least a decade after the initial robbery in 1983. Boyce was on the brink of retirement and trying desperately to crack the case before retirement, but sadly, this wasn't to be. The real-life Boyce faced pressure against the clock towards his retirement, but his superiors were also concerned about the escalating costs of the investigation versus the diminishing returns. Bonneville commented on how season two would show the 'consequences' and the 'extraordinary ripple effect' the stolen gold had not only through the British economy but around the world. The show depicts how the impact would be felt in Tenerife through to Tortola in the Caribbean with even the Russian mafia getting involved. He added: 'The implications are huge, and the consequences of the actions of six men in a van really do have a worldwide impact.' Article continues below The Gold seasons 1 & 2 are streaming on the BBC iPlayer now
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Two men charged with murder after teenage pedestrian died in ‘hit-and-run'
Two men have been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after a 16-year-old was hit by a car which failed to stop at the scene. Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Amaan Ahmed, 26, both of Locke Drive, Sheffield, have been charged in relation to the death of Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi, 16, South Yorkshire Police said. The teenager was walking along Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield on Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by a car. It is understood that a grey Audi had driven towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider, the force said. As the car continued after the crash, it collided with Abdullah. The teenager died in hospital. The driver of the Audi failed to stop at the scene, police said. The 18-year-old man riding an electric bike suffered serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening. He remains in hospital. Two people, a man, aged 46, and a woman, aged 45, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender remain on police bail. The two men who have been charged will appear before Sheffield Magistrates' Court on Monday. Abdullah had recently arrived in the UK from Yemen 'for a better future', his family said. Relatives and friends of Abdullah said he was devoted to his family and would 'light up their faces with a big smile'. He arrived in the UK from Yemen two or three months ago, and had devoted himself to learning English ahead of starting at college in September. Abdullah's relative Saleh Alsirkal runs the corner shop on Staniforth Road which the teenager visited just before the crash. He said that he had a hospital appointment earlier in the afternoon and popped into the store, as he often did, before heading off to find some food. Mr Alsirkal said: 'His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything.' Mr Alsirkal said Abdullah was a 'kind boy' who just wanted to look after his family. He said he was really enjoying learning English. 'Every time he had a new word to learn he was so excited about it,' he said. 'It meant a lot to him and he learned quick. Sometimes he would stay in the shop just so he could talk to people. He tried to be friends with everyone.'
