A vigil held in Vancouver last month honoured the memory of 14 homicide victims, including two women from the Peace Region and two from Prince George.
The vigil was organized by Vancouver Rape Relief, and participants held up signs with the women’s names, ages, and the date of their murder. One sign was held in memory of Kiara Agnew of Dawson Creek, who was killed on March 3, 2023, and found dead on vacation in Mexico.
Her boyfriend, Ryan Friesen was taken into police custody in Cancun after her death.
Agnew's body has since been returned to Canada, with family and friends raising the funds to bring her home. Another sign for the Peace Region was held up at the vigil, but had no name, for a 57-year old woman killed in Chetwynd on Feb. 27, 2023.
Another sign held the name of Isabelle Thomas, 22, who was found dead in her home in the Alpine Village townhouse complex in Prince George after police were called to the scene on July 18, 2023. One charge of first degree murder was approved in August against 23-year-old Zain Wood. A second sign for another victim in Prince George was also held up for an unnamed woman killed on July 17, 2023.
"For three of the women, we didn't have their names so we just wrote ‘woman’. We want the police, or BC Coroners Service, to publish women’s names. We want to know who they were because we want to honour and mourn them," wrote Vancouver Rape Relief on Dec. 27 in a social media post.
"Some of the victims were killed by men who had previous charges for domestic violence. The Criminal Justice System must create effective methods to supervise and monitor men who are known to be violent so they cannot harm, let alone kill, women," they added.
