‘Society should be horrified:’ Some cases of missing, murdered aboriginal women
Posted December 14, 2015 4:00 am.
Last Updated December 14, 2015 7:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WINNIPEG – A few of Canada’s almost 1,200 missing and murdered indigenous women:
Claudette Osborne — Missing
Age: 21 when she disappeared July 2008 in downtown Winnipeg
From: Norway House Cree Nation, Man.
Children: Four
Arrests: None
Sister Bernadette Smith: “My sister was portrayed as a sex-trade (worker), drug addict, aboriginal, female — all these things you had to read through before you could even find out who she was. We’ve come a long way but we still have a long way to go.”
___
Tashina General — Murdered
Age: 21 in 2008 when her body was found in a shallow grave
From: Six Nations, Ont.
Children: Four months pregnant
Arrests: Her ex-boyfriend was convicted of second-degree murder after admitting he “snapped” and strangled General, but a new trial was ordered in September on appeal.
Cousin Beverley Jacobs: “She was a really athletic, energetic young woman. A lot of friends, very traditional, attended ceremonies. It wasn’t just the family that was impacted. It was the whole community.”
___
Jennifer Catcheway — Missing
Age: 18 when she vanished in 2008 on her way to Portage la Prairie from Grand Rapids, Man.
From: Skownan First Nation, Man.
Children: None
Arrests: None
Mother Bernice Catcheway: “Who wants to find their child in a garbage dump? Nobody wants that. But on the other hand, I’ll take her. I’ll take her wherever she is.”
___
Myrna Letandre — Murdered
Age: 37 when she disappeared in 2006
From: Fairford First Nation, Man.
Children: None
Arrests: Traigo Andretti pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the killing and dismembering of Letandre in a Winnipeg rooming house. He was already serving a life sentence for killing his wife, Jennifer McPherson.
Cousin Patty Sinclair: “Now she’s numbered among the missing and murdered indigenous women of Canada. The hardest part is having to forgive this man that took her from us. Maybe now, Myrna can rest in peace.”
___
Tina Fontaine — Murdered
Age: 15 in August 2014 when her body, wrapped in a bag, was pulled from the Red River in Winnipeg.
From: Sagkeeng First Nation, Man.
Children: None
Arrests: Raymond Cormier charged with second-degree murder. Police say he and Fontaine frequented the same residence on Winnipeg’s east side.
Winnipeg deputy police Chief Danny Smyth: “The murder of this child — and let’s not forget she was a child — has shocked and outraged our community. And I think that outrage has resonated across the nation.”
