Alleged nursing home murder victim remembered by son on birthday

Arpad Horvath did not live to see his 78th birthday this week but the man who dodged death in Communist Hungary, built a prosperous life in Canada yet allegedly died at the hands of his nurse, was remembered with wine by a son looking for justice.

• Former nurse accused of 8 murders took Caribbean cruise a day after alleged killing
• Daughter of alleged victim attends Elizabeth Wettlaufer's court appearance, seeking 'justice'
• What we know of the 8 victims in the alleged nursing-home killings

One of eightelderly patientsat the centre of a first-degree murder investigation in two Ontario long-term care homes, Horvath's son marked his father's birthday Monday at his grave site by popping a cork on a bottle of his father's favourite red.

"I promised him years ago, when he was still alive, that I was going to bring wine and pour it on his grave and spend some time with him on his birthday but this year it is really hard," Arpad Horvath Jr. said.

Sitting on a folding chair next to a gravestone with an epitaph that reads "I run my own destiny,"Horvath's son tears up when he talks about the unsettling knowledge that his father may not have died of natural causes.

Seven other families are also dealing with that knowledge, a shock that unsettled their lives last monthwhen Elizabeth Tracy Mae Wettlaufer was charged with eightcounts of first degree murder.

Wettlaufer has yet to enter a plea.

"My father could have lived another two, threeor fiveyears.I don't know, but that is what really hurts," Horvath Jr. said.

Last words to son: 'Pray'

According to his son, Horvath lived in real danger when he was a teenager, dodging death and escapingHungary by bribing a soldier with a pack of cigarettes.

Five decades later, court documents show the man who raised a family and built a successful tool-and-dye business in southwestern Ontario is alleged tobe Wettlaufer'syoungest and last victim.

The oldest, 96-year-old Mary Zurawinski, died threeyears earlier in 2011 in Woodstock's Caressant Care long-term care home.

Horvath's son recalls meeting Wettlaufer in the hallway of London's Meadow Park long-term care facility, the place his father called home for the final year of his life, but he has no specific memory of her involvement in his care.

What he does remember are the "cryptic" last words his father said to him before slipping into a coma and dyingthe following week.

"I saw him for lunch the day before and he leaned in close and told me to pray. He was not a religious man and when I asked what I should pray for, he just repeated again that I should pray."

Horvath Jr. said that last message now troubles him and is one more reason hewants the judicial process to start.

Waiting for justice

Wettlaufer, who is being held in custody at the Vanier Centre for Women, is scheduled to be in court Friday for a second appearance by video link.

Horvath Jr. said police have been in contact about the investigation but he credits the phone calls from counselors at victim's services for helping him the most.

"I was with him everyday in the nursing home so I will be with him everyday in the courthouse," Horvath Jr. said, promising that Wettlaufer will see his face.

Another family member, Andrea Silcox, whose father James was alleged to be Wettlaufer's first victim in 2007, has also said she will be in court to witness justice.

While the eight alleged murders date as far back as 2007, Wettlaufer was only arrested after she allegedly provided information about the crimes to staff at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Before being formally charged, police obtained a peace bond prohibiting Wettlaufer from possessing insulin.

Advice from late father

Sitting by his father's graveside, Horvath Jr. said he finds the strength he needs when he comes to visit the cemetery.

He said the folding chair is a mainstay in the back of his pickup truck, as it is not only a birthday gesture, but a visit he tries to make once a week.

When asked what advice his father would give as he and sevenother families grapple with a potentially long murder trial ahead, he pauses and looks at his father's epitaph.

"I think he would tell me to keep moving forward, that this is not in your control and whatever happens, happens."