With tears in their eyes and flowers in their hands, more than a hundred people gathered on Saturday evening in front of the house on Anoka Street where a mother and daughter were stabbed to death almost a week ago.
Dark music filled the suburban streets of Ottawa as people remained silent remembering Anne-Marie Ready, 50, and Jasmine Ready, 15.
“They were such kind souls,” said Tyler Glenn, who trained with them at the Douvris martial arts studio, where they had just received their black belts a fortnight ago after years of training.
Glenn said he was “totally negative and shocked” after learning of the couple’s death at the hands of 21-year-old Joshua Graves, the son of the family’s neighbor.
According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the Ontario police watchdog, Ottawa police received a call to 911 around 10:30 p.m., June 27.
Officers arrived at the scene and found Graves stabbing Anne-Marie Ready’s 19-year-old daughter, Catherine, on the road near the house.
When he allegedly refused to drop his knife, the police shot him and killed him, hitting Catherine as well. She was the only one who survived the stabbing attack.
Graves’ own relatives have said he was suffering from a mental illness and had a “romantic” interest in one of the victims. Just three days before the stabbing began, Graves had been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting and harassing a 16-year-old girl.
He was then released.
“Deeply Disturbed”
Although people came to mourn his loss, many still had persistent questions.
“I’m curious to know how a 21-year-old, who a week earlier had been charged with sexual assault, was able to run freely with a knife,” said neighbor Scott Babbitt.
Babbitt witnessed the incident and said he is “deeply disturbed” and has “vivid” memories of it. On the night of the murders, Babbitt said Graves had been left unattended near other girls living on Anoka Street.
Ottawa police cordoned off a residential street on June 28, a day after the stabbings. (Claudine Richard / Radio-Canada)
The tragedy took place on the same day that a high-profile forensic investigation into the murders of three women in Renfrew County released 86 recommendations aimed at eradicating violence against women.
Lawyer Pamela Cross, who was part of a panel of experts in the investigation, said the coincidence was startling and described last week’s murders as the murders of Nathalie Warmerdam, Anastasia Kuzyk and Carol Culleton. in 2015, of clear acts of “femicide”.
It is important to distinguish “femicide” from “homicide,” Cross said, as the former is an act of killing girls and women for their sex. One of the recommendations made by jury members in the investigation was to include feminicide in the Canada Penal Code.
“It’s deeply disturbing, in many ways … that someone so young is already so shaped by the misogynistic values that frame a culture we live in,” he said.
Jasmine Ready (left) died in the June 27 attack while her older sister, Catherine (right) survived when police shot the suspect. (Council of Central Catholic Schools / Katherine Sauvé)
“Girls don’t feel safe”
Cheshmak Farhhumand-Sims, a member of the Alta Vista community and an advocate for women, said she organized Saturday evening not only to allow people to grieve and cry, but also to raise awareness about violence against women. and mental health issues.
“Every time women get lost because of violence [like] this is a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do, to prevent the circumstances that lead to violence against women and to really try to reach the root causes, ”she said.
Farhhumand-Sims said he wondered about all the things that could have been done to prevent the attack on Anne-Marie, Catherine and Jasmine Ready.
Cheshmak Farhhumand-Sims organized the vigil on Saturday, saying it was an opportunity to let people express their grief while drawing attention to violence against women. (Avanthika Anand / CBC)
Martial arts studio Douvris accepts donations to help Catherine Ready while she remains in hospital, six days after the attack.
The SIU, which is investigating, among other things, the deaths and serious injuries of the police, said on Tuesday that it was in a serious but stable condition.
Jana Marcoux, a friend of Catherine’s who was at the vigil, said the two took classes together at the University of Ottawa. He described his friend as “brilliant”, “full of life” and “always in a good mood”.
Marcoux said she waits and prays for her friend’s recovery, adding that the finding that the Ready were attacked for their sex makes her afraid for herself and other women.
“It’s scary to know I have a friend in the hospital right now, with no mother or sister,” she said. “Girls don’t feel safe.”