Death of Giant Mine bomber, Roger Warren, brings peace to daughter of victim

Karen Fullowka said she knew as soon as she turned up her driveway in Yellowknife on Sept. 18, 1992, that something was wrong.

"There was a bunch of cop cars in front of our house. We walked in. Mom was crying on Uncle Brian's shoulder and I actually asked 'what happened to Daddy?'"

Her father, Vern, was one of nine men killed when the railcar they were riding while in the deep underbelly of the since closed Giant Mine hit a trip wire, setting off an explosive. 

Vern Fullowka was 36 when he died. Karen was only eight years old.

"He was a helper. If he could help anybody, he would go above and beyond just to help out a friend. And that's how I live my life now," Karen said.

Three of the men who were killed in the Giant Mine explosion were replacement workers, brought in after the mine's owner, Royal Oak, locked out its workers. The remaining six were miners who had crossed the picket line during one of the worst labour disputes in Canadian history. 

Striking miner Roger Warren confessed to setting the explosives a few months later after being questioned by police. He was convicted of nine counts of second-degree murder for one of the worst mass murders in Canadian history. The trial was 15 weeks long.

Warren served 18 years in prison before being released on day parole in 2014 and full parole in 2017 in British Columbia.

He died in July in Abbotsford, B.C., but the public only found out about his death this week.

Karen says she found out about Warren's death a few weeks ago from the family member of another one of the victims.

"I have forgiven him a long time ago. I was full of hate and anger. It was controlling me, so in order to forgive him, I just had to let it all go. I understand that he was trying to help his family in a different way.

But just what Warren's role was in the Giant Mine bombing has always been questioned. Many believed he didn't work alone. 

Lee Selleck, a former Native Press and CBC North journalist, co-authored an exhaustive book about the bombing and the labour dispute that pre-empted the bombing. Selleck extensively covered Warren's trial and interviewed him while he was in prison in 1998.

"I know a lot of people in the mining industry that would say 'this is not the job of one person,'" Selleck said.

"There's a lot of people who don't believe for whatever reasons but, in a way, we kind of have to believe because this is the way life has turned out.... Only his lawyer knows the real story. I was trying to get it. To me [Warren's death] was like wow, the truth is lost."

But Fullowka said she never once questioned Warren's guilt. She says news of his death has further helped her heal from the tragedy that changed her life more than 25 years ago. 

"I felt at ease. At peace."