Soldier who killed wife, then self, to be buried in Sudbury

A former soldier who killed his pregnant wife before falling to his own death in Toronto on Dec. 20 will be buried in Sudbury on Monday.

According to Toronto Police and media reports, Robert Giblin, 43, a Canadian war veteran, killed his pregnant wife Precious Charbonneau, 33, by stabbing her and throwing her from the 21st floor of their apartment building before plunging to his own death.

A navy and air force veteran, his obituary said Giblin struggled with mental health issues as a result of his service in the armed forces.

“Sgt. Giblin had a long and varied military career,” it reads. “Sadly, Rob suffered from PTSD. He sought and underwent treatment and put the pieces of his life together. When he was well, he was overjoyed to have met and marry his love Precious Charbonneau.”

A Canadian Press story published after the murder-suicide said Giblin and Charbonneau got married at City Hall in mid-November and were madly in love.

A friend of the couple, who wasn't identified in the story, says Giblin was in good spirits when they last spoke shortly after his wedding. He says Giblin seemed ecstatic to have found love as a 43-year-old.

"He found what was his perfection, he was going to have a baby and he said his life was complete," the friend said in an interview from the Ottawa area.

"But this, there's no world in which I can figure this out. When the puzzle pieces don't fit, you try and make ends of it and when you can't, your mind just goes in circles and circles."

According to the Canadian Forces website, PTSD and other mental-health issues have spiked since soldiers have been serving in combat missions in the last 10-15 years. Suicides have been in double figures in most years since 2004, spiking at 21 in 2011. There were 16 in 2014.

His funeral service will be held at the Bancroft Community Church on Monday. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to the Royal Canadian Legion “to help support their work with mental heath, PTSD Association, or to the mental health association of your choice.”