A Kingston woman is speaking out about the dangers of dementia.

Her uncle, Alistair “Bruce” Wood, was accused of first degree murder in connection with the death of his wife Kathleen at a Guelph senior’s community in 2015.

Police say it happened at the couple’s home at the Village by the Arboretum, off Stone Road East, on November 24.

The 83-year-old was later declared unfit to stand trial and doctors with the Ontario Review Board determined his wife's death was triggered by Wood’s dementia.

Now Wood’s niece, Wendy Lovelace, wants to share her story in hopes it will help others and potentially prevent a similar tragedy.

According to Lovelace, in the weeks before her aunt’s death, she began noticing her uncle getting frustrated because he was unable to finish sentences or remember words.

She says he also stopped participating in routine activities like playing cards, riding his bike, and visiting the fitness centre.

“All those little events that I look back on now, which I didn’t take note of, were all steps leading up to this final event” says Lovelace.

She says her uncle began getting paranoid. He started following his wife everywhere, stopping her from making phone calls, and tearing the wires from their computer.

On Sunday, two days before her death, Lovelace says she spoke with her aunt on the phone and she sounded worn down and ready to reach out for help.

“She was going to call the Alzheimer’s Society the next day,” she says.

However, before Kathleen was able to seek help, Lovelace says Wood killed her when she returned from quilting class.

“Never ever once did I ever think he was capable of that,” she says.

“I know for a fact that if she feared for her life she would have called somebody or called me.”

Robin Smart with the Waterloo-Wellington Alzheimer’s Society says the sooner families of those struggling with dementia seek help, the better the options are for interventions.

Common warning signs include memory loss and struggling with words. Some of the unusual signs are anger or paranoia.

Alistair “Bruce” Wood died in October 2016 while in care.

With reporting by Julie-Marie Innes