Horrified motel guests were in disbelief discovering Hellen Nyabuto’s body in pool
Visitors at the Key Motel in Chatsworth, Ontario, got a grisly surprise last Thursday when they waded into the pool and discovered the body of Hellen Nyabuto.
Nyabuto, 23, a healthcare worker from Kenya, made headlines when her August 18 drowning death was captured on a Facebook livestream.
Known as “Hellen Wendy” on social media, Nyabuto filmed herself smiling and chatting with viewers in the shallow end of the pool before wandering into deeper waters. After moving outside the camera frame, she struggled and called for help for several minutes before the video went silent.
The livestream, which has since been removed from Facebook, captured two motel-goers entering the pool area several hours later.
In a transcript obtained by The New York Post, one of the visitors reportedly asked, “Why is there just a dead person in the water?”
The other swimmer seemed confused, replying, “I think it’s a poodle or something.”
Both patrons were disturbed, though they could not decide whether the remains were real.
“Like what if it’s actually somebody dead?” one asks.
“‘Cause I’m not even trolling, that looks way too real.”
About one minute later, the other visitor agrees.
“I’m not getting in that pool,” they said.
“It looks like an actual dead person.”
Eventually, the two decided to report the body to the motel office.
“Go tap on the door of the office,” one can be heard saying.
“Just tell them we were about to get in the pool, and it looks like there’s a dead person in there.”
According to a Wednesday press release from the Ontario Provincial Police, first responders arrived at 5:44 p.m.
The Key Motel later confirmed to the Toronto Star that Nyabuto, who was staying on the property, had died.
When reached by phone, the Key Motel had no comment on the tragedy. Earlier in the day, Ontario Provincial Police confirmed to The Post that Nyabuto’s death was being treated as non-suspicious and that they were continuing to work with her family.
Nyabuto moved to Canada in 2018, and worked in a long-term care residence outside Toronto. She had not traveled back to Kenya since moving, and the family is now eager to bring her remains home for burial.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a GoFundMe set up by Nyabuto’s younger brother had just surpassed its 50,000 CAD goal.
