Missing and murdered women in Manitoba largely Aboriginal; Aboriginal suicides take toll on family members

Racism blamed for violence - - Families want more steps taken to solve killings of native women

Another eight aboriginal women have been added to a list of the missing and murdered in Manitoba, and their families say the ongoing violence stems from racism.

Last year, the Native Women's Association of Canada counted 520 missing and murdered women, based on an exhaustive search of court, police and media reports. On Wednesday, NWAC released an updated study that analyzed its database of victims and added another 62 names to the list, raising the total to 582 dating back more than 40 years.

In Manitoba, the number of women has increased from 71 last year to 79 now, including women like Hillary Angel Wilson and Cherisse Houle, both of whom were found dead on the outskirts of town last summer.

Jordan Houle, Cherisse's 21-year-old brother, says aboriginal women -- particularly those who live hardened lifestyles -- are considered worthless by some people.

"There's a lot of people out there who disregard native women and disrespect them a lot," said Houle, who still expects to run into his sister on the street. "I think there's a lot of discrimination against young native women who take that lifestyle and go down that path."

Cherisse struggled with addiction from a young age and was the mother of an infant son. Her body turned up in a Rural Municipality of Rosser field last July, and Mounties have made no arrests in what they call a suspicious death.

According to NWAC's report, Manitoba police are mediocre at solving the cases of missing and murdered women. Only 52 per cent of the cases have been cleared with criminal charges. The Canadian average is 53 per cent. Saskatchewan has laid charges in 78 per cent of its cases.

Deputy Premier Eric Robinson, who doubles as the province's aboriginal affairs minister, called Manitoba's "solve rate" quite troubling.

"This is disgraceful that this can occur in a country like Canada and we have to put our minds together and try ways to find solutions to address it," he said.

The epidemic of missing and murdered women has garnered intense public attention in recent years and spurred the creation of several provincial task forces to solve outstanding cases, including a task force in Manitoba.

Despite that, 27 more women have disappeared or been murdered across Canada since January of last year.

"It shows this is an ongoing issue that needs immediate attention," said Kate Rexe, the director of NWAC's Sisters in Spirit project.

Last August, in the wake of Houle's death, Winnipeg police and RCMP announced a joint task force with seven investigators and two civilian analysts who are examining 84 cases dating back to 1926. The province also announced an action group dedicated to protecting vulnerable women and girls, and it now has a newly appointed co-ordinator.

RCMP D Division spokeswoman Sgt. Line Karpish said the Mounties didn't contribute to the report and don't know how NWAC came up with its figures.

"Sometimes, some of these numbers are unclear to us as where exactly who they're talking about and the origin," said Karpish, adding NWAC should source its figures.

Karpish said the Mounties provide "bias-free policing" that's "regardless of sex, ethnicity, background or lifestyle."

582 MISSING AND MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN

They're mothers

They left at least 440 children motherless

They're young

55 per cent are under 31 years of age

They live in cities

Most went missing or were murdered in urban areas

They're not prostitutes

Of the 582 cases, there's information connecting only 75 to the sex trade.

They're three times as likely to be killed by a stranger

In cases where charges were laid, 16.5% of women where killed by a stranger. Only 6% of non-aboriginal women are killed by strangers

The crimes are unsolved

Charges have been laid in about 53% of cases. In Canada overall, 84% of all homicides are solved.

Many are still missing

There are 115 women who have vanished

-- Source: What Their Stories Tell Us: Research Findings From the Sisters in Spirit Initiative

Suicide takes a toll on surviving family members - - Many cases involve Aboriginals

With Manitoba expecting to reach an all-time high for the number of suicide deaths last year, the loved ones left behind are rallying to help each other cope.

Aboriginal survivors of suicide are gathering at Thunderbird House today to share their stories of sadness and life after the death of someone close.

The Manitoba Medical Examiner's office says 2003 had the highest number of suicides with 180, and 2009 has already surpassed that with more cases as yet unconfirmed.

Many of those deaths -- five to six times more than the Canadian average -- involve aboriginal youth.

Steve Courchene knows the stats and the suffering behind them.

"My son took his life on Aug. 25, 2005," he said.

Donovan Courchene was 21, depressed and addicted to crack cocaine.

"He hung himself in his mother's clothes closet," said his dad.

Courchene said he helped organize the gathering, which began Wednesday, to bring together people who know what that's like so they could support each other.

"There's no place for suicide survivors... Another survivor will know what you're going through."

Death is hard for people to talk about, he said. The stigma of suicide makes it even tougher.

Well-meaning people who have never lost a loved one to suicide can do more harm than good, he said.

"People say 'get on with it.' We want people to understand it's hard for us."

Courchene said he's just had a grandson and he feels like he should be happy but the pain of losing his son lingers. "I'm wracked with guilt, self-hate and a lot of blame."

A family member blamed him for his son's death, and at times he wanted to die.

"I'd be sitting in the closet holding the rope trying to connect with my boy or for a way of just getting off this Earth."

The day his son died, he had locked himself inside the house. The family called the police, who discovered Donovan's body and secured the scene.

An investigator with the medical examiner's office prepared Courchene and his wife for what they'd see.

"She said 'prepare yourself. His tongue is hanging out and it's black. There's the smell of death.'" His son's body had been hanging for two days.

Courchene said it would've been worse if not for the medical examiner.

"She wasn't cold and informal. I remember the compassion in her voice...She meets people at that initial time of grief and shock."

That woman is Hedie Epp, who in 15 years with the medical examiner's office attended to hundreds of suicides.

Epp, who's been a nurse for more than 40 years, said the suicide death of a friend led her to the job.

Over the years, dealing with suicide never got easier, she said.

"I realized every case I dealt with would be difficult," said Epp.

"I've read so many notes and letters saying 'my children would be better off without me'... No child would be better off."

She said she coped on the job by not blocking the pain.

"You let it pass through you. You let it come in, feel the sadness, and let it go through you."

Dealing with the loved ones left behind at the scene was an honour, she said.

"To walk into a house in what must be the most traumatic time of their life is a privilege. It gave me all the strength to do that job."

Epp retired from her job with the province three weeks ago and started her own grief consulting service.

Russell Williams tricked staff into believing he was stable

Williams tricked staff into believing he was stable: source

KINGSTON, Ont. - Accused killer Russ Williams was able to make an elaborate suicide attempt in jail because he tricked staff into believing that his mental state had stabilized, sources have told QMI Agency.

Williams, 47, the former commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton, was taken off strict suicide watch at Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee in recent weeks because his behaviour seemed rational and compliant.

He was speaking reservedly to some staff, and he was being polite and respectful. He was often seen reading in his cell.

Because of his conduct, Williams was permitted to wear regular clothes, receive standard meals and was not being watched by security staff around-the-clock.

Authorities now believe he spent considerable time plotting to kill himself.

Early Saturday morning of the Easter weekend, he jammed cardboard and foil-like drink powder packaging into the lock mechanism of his cell door, then pushed a toilet tissue tube filled with more cardboard and foil down his throat in an apparent bid to choke himself to death, QMI learned.

He wrote a suicide note on the wall of his cell in mustard squeezed from packets provided with meals.

Staff were able to quickly open the cell door and rescue Williams before he had seriously injured himself.

Extraordinary security measures have now been imposed and are likely to remain in place for the duration of his stay at Quinte.

Williams is shackled in leg irons and handcuffs every time he leaves his cell, even for showers. He has been stripped of his regular clothing and forced to wear a smock-like anti-suicide gown made from a quilted fabric that cannot be burned, torn or twisted.

The wearer cannot tear off pieces to fashion a noose.

He also is subject to constant surveillance by a staffer posted directly outside his segregation unit cell, where he is housed next to Dean Brown, the 18-year-old man charged with shooting a Belleville area woman and her 14-year-old daughter to death last month.

Sources at Quinte say Williams, who is still receiving regular visits from his wife each week, is now considered a dangerous, conniving prisoner whose conduct is unpredictable.

When he is taken to the jail¹s visiting unit, movement of all other prisoners at Quinte is halted.

Williams is being strip searched daily and his cell is searched each day. He has virtually no contact with other inmates, except those he can see and hear in the segregation unit.

Hamed Shafia, a 19-year-old Montreal man accused of murdering four family members in a purported honour killing in Kingston last year, is housed in the cell directly across from Williams. Shafia¹s two co-accused, his mother and father, are housed in other sections of the jail.

There has been other unusual conduct from Williams since his arrest in early February.

He has been writing in a diary in what appears to be code. The writings are seen by staff who search his cell. The code appears between sentences he writes about the mundane affairs of daily life in a jail.

The suicide message he left noted that his affairs were now in order and that his feelings were too much to bear.

When Williams first arrived at the cramped Napanee facility, he behaved as if he were a prisoner of war, refusing to provide anything except name, rank and serial number.

Despite the extreme precautions that have been taken, authorities remain concerned that Williams, who is extremely intelligent and resourceful, will find other means to try to end his life.

Inmates have attempted suicide by standing on the stainless steel sink in their cells and diving headfirst onto the floor of a cell.

Inmates also have been known to bang their heads on the sink or stainless steel toilet in a bid to injure or kill themselves.

Michael Edelson, the Ottawa lawyer representing Williams, will not answer questions about the suicide attempt or the latest precautions.

“I’m not making any comment about the case,” he told QMI Agency on Monday.

Williams is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of air force flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville.

He also is charged with home-invasion sex attacks on two women in the Tweed area in September 2009.

It's horrible that this commander, once a hero, is now sitting in solitary confinement facing charges of murder and sexual assault. I can't help but wonder, what went wrong in his life? I actually have sympathy towards this man. Even though he attempted suicide, I don't feel he should be segregated from the general population. He has not attempted to kill anyone else, but himself. By not permitting him to interact with anyone, is only going to make his psychological condition worsen, in my opinion. Yes, he should have a different cell which is "suicide-proof," but he should not be separated from everyone. 

Solitary confinement is one of the cruelest forms of torture that one human being can do to another. Isolation breeds mental illness and causes psychological and physical deterioration, which will only make matters worse. This man needs counseling of some sort to find out the "stressors" in his life leading to crime but he also needs human interaction.  

Colonel accused of murder, sexual assault attempts suicide

Accused sex killer, former commander attempts suicide

KINGSTON, Ont. — Russell Williams, the former commander of CFB Trenton now charged with killing two women, made an elaborate and desperate bid to kill himself over the Easter weekend.
 
Sources at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., tell the Kingston Whig-Standard that at roughly 5 a.m. Saturday, the accused serial sex killer wrote a suicide note in mustard on the wall of his segregation cell.

The note was a farewell message saying his affairs are now in order and his feelings are too much to bear.

Aware that he was being closely watched, Williams, 47, jammed the lock in his cell door with cardboard and foil in an attempt to prevent staff from getting into his cell quickly and stopping him, sources said.

Using a cardboard toilet roll stuffed with more foil and cardboard, Williams stuffed it down his throat in an apparent bid to suffocate himself, sources said.

Staff were able to bust into the cell and rescue Williams.

The incident has raised staff fears that Williams won’t survive until his next court appearance on April 29.

He is now on 24-hour, one-on-one suicide watch inside the jail, sources said.

It appears Williams had rehearsed his attempt the day before.
Sources said Williams jammed a pencil into the lock of his cell door on Friday to test how long it would take staff to unjam it. Maintenance staff arrived and opened the door within 15 minutes.

Williams’ bizarre jailhouse behaviour has been noted before.

When he first entered the provincial facility immediately after his arrest, Williams acted as though he was a prisoner of war, only giving authorities his name, rank and serial number.

At that time, Williams was assessed by a psychiatrist and deemed a possible suicide risk. His demeanour has been described as "cocky," but "vacant."

Williams is accused of killing Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, of Brighton. Comeau worked at CFB Trenton.

Williams is also accused of two home invasion-sex assaults on two women in the Tweed, Ont., area in September 2009.

Reached by phone Sunday, Williams’ lawyer Michael Edelson said he had "no comment" on reports that Williams had attempted suicide.

Colonel Williams on suicide watch in prison

Man charged with criminal negligence causing death; didn`t intervene in wife`s suicide

Gentle man who stood silent during wife`s suicide to be sentenced May 13th 

Crown seeks jail for man who wouldn`t intervene in wife`s suicide 

Described as mild-mannered, gentle and soft spoken, a man who did nothing while his wife took her own life is pleading for leniency.

Peter Fonteece, 47, is seeking three years probation in addition to time served after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing death. 

His 38-year-old wife Yanisa died in February 2009 after ingesting upwards of 40 sleeping pills while he stood by silently at her request.

He spoke briefly at a sentencing hearing today in Thunder Bay, Ont., where he told court he and his wife never thought they were committing a criminal act.

The Crown is seeking a nine month jail sentence in addition to the time he served in pre-trial custody.

A sentencing decision is expected May 13.

The couple left Waterloo, Ont., for hopes of a better life when their car heater stopped working in Thunder Bay.

Yanisa Fonteece, who had recently lost her job and was struggling with the abuse she suffered as a child, had spoken of suicide in the past. She decided the heater breakdown that was the last straw and decided to commit suicide. 

She checked into a Super 8 Motel, swallowed between 40 and 60 Sleep EZ tablets and consumed several alcoholic beverages. After that, she laid down in bed where she choked on vomit and died.

Her legally blind husband, who also had a difficult childhood, tried three times to kill himself but was unsuccessful, after his wife was already dead. 

He called 911 when he was sure his wife was dead and she had started to decompose.

An additional charge of assisted suicide was withdrawn as the Crown agreed his lack of action was more a matter of omission rather than commission.

The Crown is compelled to seek a jail term in a rare and sad case involving a man who stood by while his severely depressed wife took her own life.

His failure to call for help after his wife Yanisa popped upwards of 40 sleeping pills in a Thunder Bay, Ont., motel room warrants a jail term.

“His spouse died, and while he could have done something to have prevented this, he didn’t``

“The Crown feels it has to ask for something.”

The body of 38-year-old Yanisa Fonteece was discovered in a Super 8 Motel room on Feb. 6, 2009 after her husband phoned 911.

Her husband couldn’t work due to a lifelong vision impairment and they decided to move out West in search of a better life and opportunities when the heater in their car broke, forcing them to stop in Thunder Bay.

Yanisa who told her husband she was going to kill herself and that he should wait until she was dead before calling the authorities. He tried three times to take his own life but was unsuccessful, and summoned authorities when her body began to smell and feel cold.

Fonteece pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death in December.

Crown noted the circumstances of the offence would “doubtless engender some sympathy for the accused,” but that a spouse is duty-bound to provide the necessities of life under the Criminal Code.

Cases like this are not common. 

Crown could find just one similar example involving a Northwest Territories man who got drunk and watched his suicidal wife hang herself in their bathroom.

Ian Kirby was sentenced to 20 months in 2004 on top of the eight months he spent in pre-trial custody.

In that case the Crown was seeking a three to four year sentence, while the defence felt the accused “has been punished enough.”

Fonteece spent more than 60 days in pre-trial custody but was released last April.

A pre-sentencing report to be submitted in court Wednesday will show he’s been doing well at a Thunder Bay facility run by the John Howard Society.

Fonteece has obeyed all his bail conditions and gotten involved in a number of different community volunteer programs.

I dont believe that this man should be sentenced to a prison term. He was depressed and so was his wife and was experiencing distress at the time. He has now taken steps to improve himself, by becoming involved in volunteer programs. I feel that he is remorseful and should not be sentenced to a prison term, but a term of probation instead, with conditions including therapy of some sort for his depression and career counselling.