Remembering a Friend...

November 28

2011-11-30T16:26:00.002-05:00

Kelly-Anne would have been 32 on November 28. Hard to believe. Sounds very old (even to someone who is about to turn 32 herself)! Kell had big plans for her twenties--I would have loved to see what she could have accomplished in the past eight plus years. My best guess is lots of travel, a fun and rewarding career, and a loving, stable relationship. And maybe even a couple of babies! Oh, and I bet she would have made a point of seeing New Kids on the Block during their reunion tour.

It's hard to think about how much Kell missed out on. And how much we missed out on experiencing alongside her. But it is best not to think about it that way. Instead, I focus on the 24 birthdays Kell got to celebrate. I think often about the surprise party I threw for her 21st birthday. I'm glad we did that. I know she enjoyed the day and I enjoyed it too.

There are no guarantees in life. None of us knows how long we'll be here on this earth. I give thanks to God for the gift of each and every day I wake up. And I give thanks to God for each of the days he gave Kelly-Anne on earth.

May God comfort the Lougheeds

2011-11-17T12:28:00.002-05:00

Little Lauren who I wrote about in my last post has been diagnosed with Leukodystrophy, a terrible illness that degrades the white matter in its victim's brains. The disease is incurable and progressive.

My heart breaks for Amanda and Steve. When I heard the diagnosis I spent a couple of hours researching the disease. Everything I read was worse than the next thing. I eventually began to feel nautious. I can't begin to imagine their pain and their suffering. They have been told that they will eventually lose their precious baby daughter. No one should have to suffer this way.

This amazing little family is constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I hope you will lift them up in yours as well. Lauren is an adorable and precious baby. Her parents need all the strength they can get to help take care of her and keep themselves stong and sane as they cope with tragic news.

You can follow along on Amanda and Steve's blog here.

Rallying the troops

2011-11-03T12:32:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite things about Facebook is that it allows me to easily keep up with friends from the many stages of my life--church, elementary school, high school, college, grad school, work colleagues, etc.

I know when things are going amazingly well, but it also allows me to know when things are going less well. Today I'd like to ask you all to pray for my friends, Amanda and Stephen, and their daughter, Lauren. Amanda, Kell, and I went to the same high school and graduated the same year. Amanda is a great girl and it was so exciting to see her joy as a new mom after giving birth to her first child earlier this year. I've kept up with baby Lauren's developments, savoring the adorable photos of her as she grows and matures.

This week, however, Amanda found out that poor baby Lauren is very sick. You can read Amanda's heart-breaking story by clicking on her blog.

Please pray for baby Lauren. Please pray the doctors find out what is causing her illness and find a way to fix it. Pray that Amanda and Steve have the strength to get through this difficult time.

Thanks. I know they appreciate the support.

UPDATED, 11/17/2011--Lauren has been diagnosed with a terrible, terrible illness. Please continue to pray for the whole family.

Strength

2011-10-05T19:18:00.008-04:00

October 5, 2004, was the day Kelly-Anne was removed from life support after being fatally attacked two days earlier. In those two days, Kell's family and friends came to grips with the tragedy and said their goodbyes. We cried. We prayed. We sobbed. We yelled. We wept. We sat in stunned silence. We screamed.

I think we experienced just about every emotion in those couple of days. It seemed shockingly cruel that Kell was gone. On October 5, her mother and father made the decision to take her off the machines that were, technically, keeping her alive despite being brain dead. How could any mother and father have to be faced with making such a terrible decision? It is truly the worst nightmare a parent could ever face.

Doreen and John, and their surviving daughter Kim, have soldiered on bravely in Kell's absence. They've taken a situation that would break most people and tried to do the best they could. They planned Kell's funeral, they buried her, and they've spent every day since trying to make sure that she's not forgotten. They've done a wonderful job in the face of such overwhelming sadness.

And they've succeeded wonderfully--because Kelly-Anne has not been forgotten, and her legacy lives on in all of us.

I'm proud to know and love John, Doreen, and Kim. I'm grateful that I've had them in my life since my earliest childhood. And I'm lucky that I've had the chance to play a small part in helping keep their beautiful daughter's memory alive.

PS--Don't forget to head over to Doreen's blog and read her reflection on what Kelly-Anne's death has taught her.

tomorrow is always fresh

2011-10-04T22:05:00.005-04:00

The brutality of Kell's death tends to overshadow the way in which she lived. This bugs me for a lot of reasons, but mainly because Kell had such a great life. In many ways it was ordinary--a suburban upbringing, a good education, an active social life. But in so many ways it was extraordinary. Mainly because of Kelly-Anne herself. Kell loved having fun. And she was really good at making fun wherever she went. I can't tell you how many adventures Kell, Kim, and I had together where we really did nothing at all but had a blast doing it. I think Kell would be proud that I've continued on our traditions of spontanaity, road trips, and grand adventures. I know she wishes she could still be a part of it. I'll leave you with a few images that I think demonstrate the kind of girl Kell was...

seven

2011-10-03T10:06:00.004-04:00

There's a chill in the air today. The leaves are beginning to change color. I'm wearing a cute argyle sweater--the perfect fall outfit. I'm happy, but I'm also filled with sadness as I remember what happened seven years ago.

Seven years ago my world was turned upside down. Seven years ago I expected the day would be like any other. Seven years ago I was just heading out into the real world after finishing up grad school. Seven years ago I thought I'd grow old with Kelly-Anne to share life's adventures with. But seven years ago I lost my best friend.

The day Kell was attacked was the worst day of my life. I've never known so much pain. I've never personally experienced tragedy of that magnitude.

Reflecting on Kell's death, I'm struck by just how much has changed in the seven years she has been gone. That's one of the hardest parts for me, I think. I am constantly reminded how much life Kelly-Anne didn't get to experience. At 24, we thought we were so wise and mature. Seven years later, I can see that we were really just babies.

It hurts my heart when I think that Kell didn't get to have any of the experiences of her mid to late twenties. And she isn't here for her thirties either. I would have loved to see what kind of job Kell ended up with. Whom she married. And what her adorable little children looked like. It's hard to know Kelly-Anne was robbed of those experiences.

I miss Kell all the time. I've got a photo of her in my office that I look at every day. I've got another on my fridge and several around the house. I love looking at Kell and remembering all the fun we had growing up in the West Island. I miss her, of course, but I look forward to seeing her again one day.

October is here

2011-10-01T12:49:00.004-04:00

All of Kell's family and friends find October especially hard. As the fall approaches, we are reminded time and time again of our loss. Of Kelly-Anne's tragic death. Of the seven years that have passed since we last saw her smile or heard her laugh. It's hard. It will always be hard. But we will continue on because we must. Because that's what Kelly-Anne would expect from us.

I've got lots to say and will post here frequently in the next few days.

In the meantime, read this from Doreen, Kell's mother:

October 3rd 2011 will soon be here. It’s hard to believe that we have lived our lives the past seven years without Kelly-Anne. Yes, she is here in spirit, but I wish I could hug her and take my fingers and twirl them through her many curly locks on her head.

Monday is a new beginning. I will start to work in a happy place, a place of new life and new beginnings for pregnant women. I will meet young women, Kelly-Anne’s age having babies. The smiles, the anticipation coupled with the excitement of soon to meet their new little one. Mothers with their daughters, their first grandchild, oh I just envy them. Gosh, the smiles, they are all so very happy and that makes me happy.

Today I think of what would of been, what would Kell look like, would she of kept her hair long and curly, would she of had a baby of her own, how many other trips would she of taken. Seven years lost, seven years of our pain, tears, frustrations and adjustments.

I know that Jules and I have changed. Actually anyone who was close to Kelly-Anne or touched by her tragic passing has changed. It’s impossible not to of have.

Life has evolved on our merry go round. Some of it has passed me by so quickly, I can hardly remember certain aspects of my past. But what I am reminded of is my pain, my lost and that forgiveness is still not an option.

Many may think that I should forgive and that I will be healed within myself. I do not agree. I will heal my way in my time. My closest friend remarked recently that she felt I had made great strides, as I am able now to accept and love another man that has come into our lives. Just I being able to do so tells me that I am not bitter against other young men, that I am able to allow myself to love.

Kelly-Anne has helped me with all that. Marty was a bad apple and it doesn’t mean that all men are like that. She has helped me to open my heart again.

If anyone has to forgive Marty, it will be Kelly-Anne. Will that happen? Your answer is the same as mine. We will never know until we die.

My life without Kelly-Anne beside me has not been easy. I continue to ask myself often, what would Kell have done in certain situations that I face daily.

Even after seven years, the community has not forgotten Kelly-Anne. Just last evening Concordia Ladies Rugby hosted the annual match with McGill. Concordia continues to retain the Kelly-Anne Cup for its third consecutive year. Kelly-Anne’s friends were there to support the cause as were many who never met Kelly-Anne. Women Aware will receive the proceeds of the game. All for a good cause!

The community remembers Kelly-Anne’s life and also how she died. People still want to hear her story, as I as her mother have been fortunate to have opportunities to continue to speak about Kelly-Anne. She accomplished so much in 24 years and her legacy continues. We must never forget how she died and that story will help change and educate the lives of many others.

Even though working on projects is emotionally draining for myself, it also affects the people working with me. I have begun the first phase of a film that I know teenagers will find compelling. It’s all good even if it brings me back to 2004. If this is what it takes to save lives and build awareness, then Kelly-Anne death is not in vain. And for that I continue to be her voice.

Dear Kelly-Anne, you are forever close to our hearts and will never be forgotten.

Doreen's wonderful blog is mydaughterkelly-anne.blogspot.com. Hope on over and say hello!

Another woman dead

2011-09-25T09:03:00.002-04:00

Randy "Amanda" Lehrer, a 32 year old mother originally from Montreal, was found murdered and stuffed in a concrete drum in her New Jersey home. Her husband has been been arrested and is being held on $1 million bail.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/24/montreal-womans-body-buried-in-concrete-family

Terribly sad. Prayers for her daughter and her family. Mary God rest her soul.

The beauty of the ordinary

2011-09-20T12:49:00.002-04:00

My friend, Rod Dreher, lost his sister last week after a long battle with cancer. Ruthie Leming was only 42. In addition to Rod, she left behind two parents, a husband, and three young daughters.

Rod has written beautifully about Ruthie's struggle these past couple of years. I can't resist sharing with you all some of his most poignant pieces. I can't imagine the pain Ruthie's family must be in right now, but I hope you'll join me in lifting them up in prayer.

This made me cry.

Actually, so did this.

This is a lovely one from when Ruthie's fight was just beginning.

Heck, I think you should read all of Rod's posts about his sister. They are chock full of insights about ordinary life, love, family, and the ties that bind us together. Rod is bringing his sister Ruthie's story to millions through his writing. And that is a beautiful thing.

flashbacks

2011-09-01T12:57:00.002-04:00

I just had the urge to watch the tribute video we made for Kelly-Anne's wake. I'm shocked I can now watch it without sobbing. Sure, I feel sad when I remember Kell's smile, her beautiful hair, her fun disposition--and the fact that she was taken from us so tragically. But I also feel happy when I see the photos from our childhood and teenage years.

Kell was a wonderful person and a great friend. My life was richer with her in it. It has now been more than seven years since I've received a postcard from Kell. Seven years since we had the chance to chat. Seven years since we've gone swimming or adventuring together. I miss her each and every day.

Wishing it away

2011-06-09T18:30:00.003-04:00

I lived in Montreal for the first two decades of my life. I grew up in a tight-knit community in the West Island and made lifelong friends (including Kelly-Anne!) as a very small child. I attended a great elementary and high school, got a good education, and then pursued my dreams at McGill University. I was the first person in my family to graduate with a bachelor's degree.

When I wrapped up my history degree at McGill, I decided to move to the United States and pursue a graduate degree. I was fortunate enough to be accepted to all the schools I applied to and lucky to get a great education. I finished up grad school in 2004 and then headed off the big city to pursue a career in policy and politics.

I haven't been a resident of Montreal in nearly 10 years. Amazingly, it feels really distant to me now. I never imagined I would feel that way.

But I recently realized that Kelly-Anne's death has something to do with it.

When I got the call early in the morning on October 4, 2004, that my best friend had been stabbed my whole world fell apart. I remember the covnersation with my mother. I began yelling: "Stabbed? What do you mean she has been stabbed?" Optimistically, I was thinking she had been probably been stabbed in the leg. "Where was she stabbed?" When my mother gently let me know that she had been stabbed in the head and would most likely not recover, I sank to the floor of my bedroom and began crying uncontrollably.

I got up, threw some clothes in a bag, grabbed my passport and went to the airport. Somewhere along the way I think I called my boss and told her I wouldn't be in to work that day. God knows what that message said, but I imagine it was jarring to hear your relatively new employee say "Sorry, I can't come in today. My best friend was stabbed in the head by her boyfriend and is on life support. I will call you when I can."

I boarded the plane in utter disbelief. Could this really be happening? One look at my father's face when he picked me up at the airport let me know it was for real. We made our way to the Montreal General Hospital. I felt numb.

I entered Kelly-Anne's room in the Intensive Care Unit. Her mother, father, and sister (whom I've known virtually my whole life) were all their crowded around her bed with my own mother. Kell looked lifeless and was hooked up to an alarming number of machines. They had shaved her head. I knew she was already gone.

I remember Kelly-Anne's mother, Doreen, called out to Kelly-Anne--"Look, Kell, Rachel's here to see you! It is time to get up!" For those who had spent the past 12 hours sitting besider her bedside while machines kept her alive it hadn't yet sunk in that she was brain dead. I've never felt as much pain as I did at that moment. Kelly-Anne couldn't get up. She would never get up. She would never again greet me with an excited smile on her face. She would never greet me at all.

Everything was a blur, yet I was eerily calmn. I knew I had to be. I was ushered into a small room where two top neurologists at the hospital showed me the x-rays of Kelly-Anne's head. You could clearly see the knife blade lodged in her skull, slicing her spinal column, and entering her brainstem. They explained she was brain dead. I didn't doubt this diagnosis--it was obvious.

Eventually the news sunk in. The ICU was a mob scene. I greeted dozens of Kell's friends and our former classmates as they cried uncontrollably. I held back my tears. I needed to be strong. I wanted to be strong. I thought that's what Kell would have wanted from me. She was removed from life support the next day.

I then did the only thing I could think of--I found a way to pay tribute to her. I gathered hundreds of photos. I hunted down videos from elementary school that our gym teacher ahd kept. I worked for two days with my boyfriend and close friend to create a tribute video that could be shown at Kelly-Anne's wake. We wanted people to remember her life, not just her tragic death. It was my small way to pay tribute to my best fiend.

It felt like thousands of people were at the funeral home and the funeral the next day. I saw people I'd known forever. I hugged people. I told them we would be ok. I wiped tears and handed out kleenexes. Everyone said the same thing. "I can't believe Kelly-Anne is dead." We buried her and said our goodbyes.

The next day I went to the major crimes unit in Montreal to tell them what I knew of Kelly-Anne and Marty's relationship. To explain that Kelly-Anne had told me it wasn't working out, that they were in the process of breaking up. That things weren't good between them.

The day after that, I returned to the United States and to my job utterly shell shocked. A little over a week after Kell was attacked. I got off the plane, went straight to work, and stared at my computer, unable to process my thoughts and feelings. My coworkers tried their best, but they had no idea what to say or do. What do you do when someone has experienced such tragedy?

I soldiered on. Evetually I began to be able to go a minute, an hour, and eventually a half a day without my thoughts being consumed with grief. I learned what new normal was. But I have never felt the same way about Montreal. I can't help it, but when I get off the plane all the feelings I felt that day come back to me so vividly. I remember Kelly-Anne's death, I remember the tragedy, I remember the powerlessness I felt. I remember the overwheling sadness.

To be sure, it has gotten better these past seven years. I return home with regularity and visit family and friends. I traipse around the city and remember the good times I had with Kell--how much fun we had as children, teenagers, and young adults. But no matter what, when I enter that city, be it by plane, train, or automobile, I feel a little like I did on that terrible day I learned of this tragedy. And that is something I doubt will ever go away.

Stereotypes about murder...

2011-03-29T15:24:00.002-04:00

When you think about murder, what are the words and images that come to your mind:

...horror, death, tragedy, blood, crime scenes, attacks, weapons, strangers...

How many of us picture being assaulted by a masked stranger? Shot in an armed robbery? Attacked by a mugger in a dark alley?

Sadly, these are not the most common types of murder. According to statistics from the Bureau of Justice, the victim and offender were strangers in only 14 percent of all murders between 1976 and 2005. Did you get that? Go back and read it again. Only 14 percent.

It is actually far more common to be murdered by someone you know. More than half of all murders are committed by a spouse, family member, or aquaintance.

The victim/offender relationship is undetermined in more than one-third of homicides.

What could be more comforting than this?

2011-03-29T15:16:00.001-04:00

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14, Verses 1-4

thoughts for the day

2011-03-29T12:04:00.003-04:00

With Kelly-Anne's murder nearly seven years ago now, I sometimes find a day or two goes by where I don't think about what happened. That is such an awesome feeling, especially when this heinous act was at the forefront of my mind for so many years. I think about Kelly-Anne all the time, but I don't dwell as much on her murder as I used to. Instead, I find myself remembering funny times, laughing at something that would have amused Kelly-Anne, or even thinking about what she's doing in heaven.

***********************

That's not to say I don't miss her. The reality is that I miss her all the time. My life isn't as rich or full without my dear friend Kelly-Anne in it. It's just not the same.

***********************

April brings National Crime Victims' Rights Week in the United States. I saw an advertisement for the program on a city bus the other week (of all places) and couldn't help but look into it. You can click on the link to their website here. Not sure whether some of this is all that valuable, but I do like the idea of the awards.

***********************

It is true, of course, that murder is a tricky crime because the victim is no longer with us to advocate on his or her own behalf. That unenviable task is left to the victim's loved ones. As W.H. Auden once said:

"Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness; it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest."

***********************

That's all I've got for today. What's on your mind?

A very moving eulogy

2011-02-25T11:32:00.001-05:00

My dear friend, Grace Vuoto, has posted online the eulogy she delivered at her mother's funeral in January 2008. I would encourage you to go and read it by clicking here. It is a very powerful testament to a live well lived and an enduring legacy of faith.

The Liberal View of Crime & Punishment

2011-02-22T18:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a somewhat light hearted look at the various arguments about criminals, victims, etc.

Kelly-Anne's mail...

2011-02-17T12:49:00.003-05:00

What happens when you recieve an invitation addressed to your late daughter nearly seven years after her death? Hope on over to Doreen's blog to read this pretty cool story about a movie Kelly-Anne worked as an assistant on back in 2003 that has finally been made.

You can also watch the trailer for the film on YouTube.

I could not have said this better...

2010-12-13T13:34:00.001-05:00

“If you know someone who has lost a child or lost anybody who's important to them, and you're afraid to mention them because you think you might make them sad by reminding them that they died, they didn't forget they died. You're not reminding them. What you're reminding them of is that you remember that they lived, and that's a great, great gift.” ~ Elizabeth Edwards

Thirty One

2010-11-28T12:10:00.005-05:00

31 People/Places/Things that Remind me of Kell

1) Curly hair
2) Lifeguards
3) Bon Jovi
4) Concordia University
5) Thorndale Pool
6) Cedar Drive
7) Ashley MacIssac
8) The Olympics
9) Great Big Sea
10) Adventuring
11) Greendale Elementary School
12) Saint Anne de Bellevue
13) People who laugh a lot
14) Dwayne and Marmaduke
15) Rugby
16) Smurfs
17) Friends rumaging through my pantry
18) Dirty Dancing
19) Handcrafted greeting cards
20) Driving through the park
21) San Diego
22) Rum balls
23) New Year's Eve
24) People who talk with their hands
25) Irish Pubs
26) Plattsburgh
27) Bryan Adams
28) Synchronized Swimming
29) The Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High
30) Canada Day in Ottawa
31) Waterpolo

On the occasion of Kelly-Anne's 31st birthday, here is a list of things that remind me of her. Happy birthday, dear friend!

Kim speaks to The Gazette about her sister

2010-11-14T10:10:00.002-05:00

Check out this great interview Kimmy did with The Gazette about the loss of Kelly-Anne.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Video+Sister+Keeper/3825468/story.html

Special Birthday

2010-10-29T14:29:00.006-04:00

They say the years pass by fast as you get older. When I was a child, for example, the schoolyear seemed to take forever. As I've aged, a year can fly by in a blink of an eye. It is seriously hard to believe that Kimmy is celebrating such a big birthday this year. Seems like just yesterday that she was an adorable elementary school student. Given that you only have a milestone birthday such as this once in life, I wanted to post a birthday tribute to Kimberly Drummond, Kelly-Anne's little sister.

Kimmy is fiercly independant--but she's also very loyal. She has a "can do" spirit and a good heart. She is adventerous and loves to travel. Unlike her big sister and me, she's actually been to Australia and Europe, and has lived and worked in many different parts of Canada.

Kimmy loves beer, boys, barbeque, and icecream. (Sometimes in that order!) Kimmy is also passionate about her family and her cats. She loves them beyond measure.

She loves all kinds of physical excercise--she plays squash, swims, lifeguards, and much more. She is a strong. Intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Kimmy has had to endure more than her fair share of struggles in life. Like many of us, she's had very high ups, but she's also had very low lows. She lost her best friend and big sister but has carried herself through this grief with
more grace and strength than most of could have if we were in her shoes. And she hasn't let that grief and loss define her, either.

Kimmy has so much to offer the world--more than she gives herself credit for at times. She's kind, compassionate, beautiful, intelligent, empathetic, and self-reliant. She has a heart for children with special needs, and works tirelessley to help them realize their potential.

So, join me in wishing Kimmy a happy birthday on this first day of a new decade in her life. Cheers to it being her best one yet!

A letter I wrote to Kell on August 28, 2000

2010-10-17T22:18:00.003-04:00

Monday, August 28, 2000

Dear Kelly-Anne,

I thought it might be fun to send you some mail using good old Canada Post. How are you? I am doing fine, I am at work today, and I am typing this letter using a very neat typewriter whcih means it is a lot more difficult because I can't delete anything once it is down on the page.

Kelly-Anne, I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate your amazing friendship. I am so pleased to be able to call you my best friend. You have been here for me since I was a little girl and I value that deeply. I can not tell you how much it means to me to have you aroudn. I know that I can always call you or see you and I can tell you anything at all. Thank you, Kell. I love you so much.

You and Kimmy are like the sisters I never had and that is invaluable. I know that we will be friends forever and my children will call you Auntie Kell.

Kelly-Anne, you are a very special and talented young woman. You are smart, beautiful, athletic, caring, kind, compassionate, friendly, funny, and so much more. You are very blessed. I know you will make an excellent mother one day.

Kell, I want you to know that I will ALWAYS be there for you. You are my best firend and you always will be. I can't wait to see how the rest of our lives turn out but I know we will both be successful and happy people. Kell, have a great day and smile because you are a wonderful person and you are very much loved.

Love you always,
Rachel

This letter makes me SO sad. It makes me sad that Kell's journey was cut short. That she never got to accomplish all the things she wanted to in life. But it also makes me happy that at least I took the time (although not nearly often enough!) to tell Kell what a great friend she was.

The ways people have helped me...

2010-10-14T09:43:00.006-04:00

I've experienced the full range of human emotion from others since Kelly-Anne died. I've seen it all--the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Here are some of the kindest, sweetest, most loving gestures I've experienced since Kell died.

--When I returned to work (a job I had held for only 2 months) after Kelly-Anne died, my boss at the time had a lovely vase of flowers with a short note waiting for me. She was an incredibly reserved, understated woman. But she made sure I knew she was thinking of me and that she was deeply touched by this experience.

--There were a couple of friends of mine who--despite being at far distance--made it clear that they wanted to support me and that they would do anything that was necessary. I can vividly remember one friend, in particular, who would listen for HOURS at a time to me talk on the phone about Kelly-Anne as I tried to work through my grief.

--My parents--who knew Kelly-Anne for just as long as I did--returned with me to Washington after her funeral and helped me get back into a routine. I can't remember how long they stayed (I'm pretty sure it must have been a few weeks) but they demonstrated how much they cared by helping me get settled.

--Friends of Kelly-Anne's whom I didn't even know before her death reach out to me all the time. Sometimes they write to tell me a story about Kell or send me a photo. Other times they just mention how much they miss her. I love that! It reminds me how much Kelly-Anne was loved and how she is still missed by more than her family and closest friends.

--One friend at work found out about Kelly-Anne's death and brought me the most amazing bouquet of flowers for my desk on the third anniversary of her death. I was SO touched I couldn't even speak for several minutes after she dropped these off. The gesture was grand and incredibly well timed and it helped carry me through a rough patch.

--My friend, Nic Wright, stayed up with me and my husband basically all night on the evening before Kell's wake to produce the tribute video that we played at the funeral home. It was SO, SO important for us to remember Kell's life, not just the tragic way she died. Nic gave so generously of his time and his equipment to help create a memory that is still one of my most treasured posessions.

--Countless strangers and new friends have happened upon this blog and taken the time to read Kell's story and right a note or comment about how it touched them. It means the world to us to know that Kelly-Anne's memory lives on in people who didnt' even know her when she was alive.

--There have been lots of lasting memorials erected to Kelly-Anne all over the West Island. There is a room with her name on it at the DDO Aquatic Center, a tree planted out front of Greendale school, the Kelly-Anne Drummond memorial cup awarded to either McGill or Concordia after a rugby match, and a marble bench in a park in Pierrefonds, among others. Each of these things gives me a boost when I need it most.

All of the above examples illustrate that there are numerous ways to reach and support a friend--or even a stranger--during a time of trial. It is essential to realize that people going through a crisis need to know they are loved and supported.

Many fear that their words or remarks may upset someone who is grieving so they don't say anything at all. Don't be that person. Know that with or without your words, the person's loved one is never far from their mind or their thoughts. Being the person who ignores the tragedy and constantly changes the subject or clams up if it comes up is very hurtful. Showing you care helps the grief stricken person realize he or she is not alone. And that is invaluable.

A mother's grief

2010-10-14T09:34:00.004-04:00

I came across this beautiful poem on Kristy's wondeful website, Waiting for Happy. I encourage you to check it out--she writes about her experience as a young mom of five children, two of whom are already in heaven.

I'm not a mother and I've never lost a child, but I thought this poem was beautiful and it certainly sums up how I feel about Kelly-Anne. I never, ever mind talking about her. In fact, I wish I had more chances to talk about her!

People just don't know what to do when someone has experienced such an enormous loss. I can't tell you how many times someone has looked at me stunned when they find out about Kell and quickly changed the subject to something more comfortable. I know Doreen has experienced this as well.

I'm not suggesting that we should spend all day talking about our grief and loss, but I am suggesting that when it comes up naturally in the course of conversation it is important not to stifle those feelings. Next time you are interacting with someone who has survived a tragedy, remember that they could always use your love and support and that changing the subject and moving on quickly doesn't seem particularly loving.

Go ahead and mention my child,
The one that died, you know.
Don't worry about hurting me further.
The depth of my pain doesn't show.
Don't worry about making me cry.
I'm already crying inside.
Help me to heal by releasing
The tears that I try to hide.
I'm hurt when you just keep silent,
Pretending she didn't exist.
I'd rather you mention my child,
Knowing that she has been missed.
You asked me how I was doing.
I say "pretty good" or "fine".
But healing is something ongoing
I feel it will take a lifetime.
~ Elizabeth Dent ~

In my next post, I will discuss some of the most lovely gestures that I've experienced since Kelly-Anne died.

Raising a glass

2010-10-05T21:41:00.001-04:00

I often get asked how one learns to cope with such epic tragedy. How does life ever get back to normal? The answer is that it doesn't. But you do learn to cope with the new reality of life without your loved one.

One of the best ways I've found of doing that is by doing something your loved one loved. In a small but real way it helps you feel connected. It lifts your spirits to know that you are doing something your friend would have enjoyed.

Tonight I am celebrating a good friend's new job. I had no idea we were going to an Irish Pub. Once I realized what kind of joint it was I couldn't help but smile. Kell would have LOVED this. We've laughed, raised a pint, ate a good meal, and played pub trivia. This would have made her so happy. It has made me happy too.

I will never forget you

2010-10-03T19:51:00.000-04:00

There are raindrops falling steadily in Northern Virginia. And for the first time this year there's a chill in the autumn air. I'm wearing cute jeans with even cuter LL Bean flip flops. Kell would approve.

As I watch the clock tick toward 8 o'clock on this most horrid of days, my mind races with thoughts of Kell's last moments. I can't think of anything else even six long years later.

I wonder what how Kell felt on this evening. I hope she never gained enough consciousness to realize what had happened after she was attacked from behind. But I can't help but hope she knew how loved and adored she was...

I know she did. And I think she knows she still is loved and adored by those of us still here.

I will never, ever forget you, Kelly-Anne Drummond. Thank you for 20 years of laughter, smiles, crazy antics, joy, high school drama, neighborhood bonding, funny nicknames, unsolicited advice, and endless adventures. You were a class act and I'm lucky to have had you as a best friend and as close to a sister as I'll ever have.

Honoring Kelly-Anne's memory

2010-10-03T14:32:00.004-04:00

Today is about honoring the memory of my best friend. Today is about remembering what made Kelly-Anne special and unique. I hope you will join today in paying tribute to Kelly-Anne Drummond. Here's what I will do today to remember Kell:

Pray for the repose of Kelly-Anne's soul and for strength, peace, and grace for all those who loved her.

Tell my family and friends how grateful I am for their love and support.

Watch the tribute video we created for her wake.

Look through my photos and remember some of my favorite stories about Kell.

Reread her letters and postcards and laugh at her silly antics.

Light a candle and listen to some of the Ashley MacIssac music Kell loved so much.

How are you remembering Kelly-Anne?

On a Sunday just like this one...

2010-10-03T14:10:00.003-04:00

Today is the sixth anniversary of the attack that claimed Kelly-Anne's life.

On October 3, 2004, Kelly-Anne had just returned from a trip to Italy. She seemed in good spirits outwardly, but her thoughts must have been consumed with the dark situation in which she found herself. Kell was in a relationship that had turned sour. She believed she could handle it, that she and Marty could break up "like adults."

From what we know, Kell's last day alive was rather ordinary. She was recovering from jet lag from her trip and resting after a busy week at work. She was probably doing laundry and getting her things unpacked. Knowing Kell, she was looking through a craft magazine or website, thinking about some autumnal Martha Stewart projects she would tackle. She was probably also plotting how she could save money--Kell was extremely thrifty with her resources and I bet she was planning on being even thriftier than usual after her expensive trip abroad... Kell was cooking dinner (porkchops) for her and Marty.

Sometime that evening, Kelly-Anne and Marty's landlord knocked at the door to ask after their rent. Apparently, some portion of the rent hadn't been paid despite the fact that Kelly-Anne had left it for Marty before she went away. Apparently, Marty had decided to "hold back" some of the rent money instead of giving it to their landlord.

I'm sure Kelly-Anne was upset when the landlord left their apartment. That kind of irresponsible behavior didn't sit well with her (not even when we were children or teenagers!). According to Marty, they began to argue.

That fall Sunday, only a few weeks before her 25th birthday, was Kelly-Anne's last day on earth. For reasons that escape reason, Marty attacked Kelly-Anne on that fateful night. Her injuries were fatal.

Kell's death was tragic. And it was senseless. By all rights, Kelly-Anne should have lived a long and happy life. Instead, her infectious joy and spirit were snuffed out by a selfish, violent, and volatile individual.

For Kelly-Anne's family and friends, the world became a colder, darker place on October 3, 2004.

Nice memories from Kelly-Anne's dad

2010-10-03T14:08:00.002-04:00

Here are some nice memories from Kell's father, John. He posted these on Kelly-Anne's mom, Doreen's blog... Read her post here.

Thank-you Doreen for your postings about Kell on your blog. I have just finished a one hour & twenty minute phone call with Val Ayerst. We did alot of remembering of our beautiful daughter. As you know this year is the first year that everything coincides to the day. This is especially very hard for me. Adrienne and I layed flowers today at her graveside. There was alot of water covering many markers but none at Kell's. This was strange to see. I had expected to see water covering her marker but it was dry. Being such a swimmer Kell would have basked at the moment. As I write this I am listening to some music from The Trans Siberian Orchestra, who are known for Christmas Music. There is one song in particular that Kell liked, Christmas Canon. I can play this now or in December or July, I will always think of Kell.Not exactly East coast music, but she liked it.
This Saturday night brings back many memories to me. Kell was here telling us about her recent trip to Italy. We laughed until we were almost crying about her adventures. When I drove her back to her apartment, I did not know that I would not see her again. This will be with me for the rest of my life. But the moments that we had that night will be embedded in my memory forever.
Kell is gone in body, but her spirit and memory will be with us and many others for ever.

The little things

2010-09-30T09:29:00.004-04:00

Once in a while I pass someone on the street who has beautiful brown curly hair and is small in stature but looks strong. I can't help but stare and do a double take. In the split scond before my logic takes over, I am elated! Like Doreen, I sometimes imagine Kell's just away on another of her trips. Seeing the world. Somewhere like Hawaii, Australia, or Fiji!

Sometimes I am reminded of Kelly-Anne in different ways. One of my friends, in particular, frequently reminds me of Kell in expression or gesture. She looks nothing like Kelly-Anne physically, but sometimes my friend will exclaim something with enthusiasm and I can't help but laugh and smile because I could imagine those words coming right out of Kell's mouth. It is just a small thing, but it brings me joy and reminds me of the enormous degree of energy, vigor, enthusiasm, and good cheer Kell posessed.

Some light reading...

2010-09-27T18:25:00.003-04:00

Over the weekend I was feeling pretty crummy so I decided to pick up a fiction book for a little light, fun reading. I probably should have thought more carefully before I got into this one, though, because it was neither light nor uplifting. While My Sister Sleeps, by Barbara Delinsky, is a great book. But I wasn't prepared for the emotions that engulfed me as I read it. An elite athlete suffers a fluke heart attack and is placed on life support as doctors determine she is brain dead. In the end, the family must decide to remove her life support and let go of their beautiful daughter who was gone far too soon. Heavy stuff, particularly when it is a little too similar to real life situations you are all too familiar with.

Anyhow, even though it upset me, I did like the book in the end. And her other books are equally good.

trips and travel

2010-09-26T23:20:00.004-04:00

Doreen has started a series of posts over at her blog to honor Kelly-Anne's memory in the lead up to the tragic sixth anniversary of her death. If you aren't already reading her blog, make sure you head on over and check it out...

Hard to believe we've already arrived at six long years since Kell died. Six years ago I had just moved to Washington. Kell and I had big plans for her to come visit ASAP. She had been planning to come to Ohio when I was studying there, but the trip was just so long that we never could figure out how to make it happen. As Kell put it in one funny e-mail to me:

Raye...I was looking for the tickets for Ohio, am I am having second thoughts. It is very time consuming and the trips have 23 stops each leaving from Montreal. Going from Windsor to Athens takes 20hours...according to a map the two cities are not that far apart....they must drive around in circles, or go north to go south.

So, for obvious reasons, the Ohio trip never happened. But we knew Washington to Montreal was a much, much easier trip. We would have had a good time together exploring this city. I could just imagine the two of us getting into all manner of mischief as we went adventuring. Too bad Kelly-Anne never got to make the trip.

Seven Quick Takes: The Kelly-Anne Drummond Edition

2010-09-23T06:15:00.000-04:00

Concordia won the Kelly-Anne Drummmond Cup this year. Although my loyalty to McGill runs deep, I can't help but be pleased. That is how it should be.

**********

Hard to believe that nearly six years of my life have passed without Kelly-Anne to share them. Sometimes I feel like I am still in a nightmare. Once in a while, I catch myself thinking I need to tell Kell something right away. Then I remember.

**********

My curly hair is getting decidely less curly every year. Why can't I have curls like Kell did? She had the most amazing ringlets. My curls? They are now close to waves and no product I find seems to make a difference at all.

**********

The man who murdered Kelly-Anne only has about seven more years to serve in jail before he's elligible for parole. I can't think about this without having my blood boil. Seriously? Second degree murder of a vibrant 24 year old woman in the prime of her life and he only gets 13 years? What is wrong with that picture? And, more importantly, why aren't Canadians more outraged by their justice system.

**********

I love the fall season--especially here where the weather is so humid all of the time. But as the nights turn colder and the days get shorter, I begin to think about Kelly-Anne constantly and relive all of the lasts. Last time I saw her. Last time I spoke to her. Last time she went on a trip. Her last postcard from Italy. Last, last, last. It is all so sad.

**********

When Kell, Kim, and I were little girls, we each had a striped tee shirt (mine and Kell's were red and Kimmy's was blue, I think?) that featured a WWII era poster with a pin up girl wishing she could join the navy. Does anyone else remember those shirts? They looked like this. Anyway, I recently saw magnets like this for sale at the Marine Corps Museum and so, of course, I had to purchase one for me and one for Kimmy for her upcoming birthday. It made me smile. Hopefully it will make her smile too.

**********

Not sure where I'll go from here with this blog. I haven't been posting as regularly, but I will still continue to update from time to time as the mood strikes. I know many of Kell's other family and friends check in here on a regular basis, so please feel free to send me e-mails of your memories and I'll happily post them.

Quick Takes are hosted every Friday over at the Conversion Diary. This is a grat idea and I've always wanted to participate. Head over and read some others if you are interested...

The Kelly-Anne Cup

2010-09-08T13:04:00.004-04:00

Each year, Concordia and McGill face off in an annual women's rugby game in memory of Kelly-Anne. This year's game will be played TONIGHT, September 8, 2010, at 8:30 pm on the Loyola field across from Concordia in N.D.G. The Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup is presented to the winning team and funds raised are donated to Women Aware.

Edited: Concordia won this year's match and there's a fabulous game recap from their newspaper available here. My favorite quote comes from the team captain:

Jackie Tittley had an important mission on Wednesday night at Concordia stadium. The women's rugby captain was responsible for keeping the Kelly-Anne Drummond Cup safely in her grip, and out of McGill's hands. "I have to keep it safe, it's an important piece," she joked as she cradled the glass trophy. "It's under very high security."

A similar situation?

2010-05-05T15:44:00.003-04:00

New details being revealed in the sad case of Yeardley Love's murder... And, sadly, many similarities to a story we all know too well. Here are just a few of the similarities:

--The victim and the accused were involved in a romantic relationship, but were in the process of breaking up.
Kelly-Anne and Marty were also in the process of ending their relationship.

--The accused was known for being violent and especially "aggressive when he drank." In 2008, he was arrested and shocked with a stun gun after a violent encounter with a police officer. He also threatened to "kill everyone" upon his arrest.
After Kelly-Anne was murdered it became known that Marty had a violent track record, especially in past relationships. Marty had also been charged and acquitted of uttering death threats and was prevented from possessing weapons.

--The media is reporting that friends of the victim and the accused say that the accused tried to attack the victim in public just weeks ago. Police are also investigating claims that the accused may have issued threats via text message.
According to the testimony of several of her close friends, Marty was violent toward Kelly-Anne and issued threats including in the weeks leading up to her death.

--The accused admits to a violent altercation with the victim immediately prior to her death but says her death was an "accident that turned tragic." He claims to have shaken her, causing her head to bang against a wall repeatedly.
Never in the time since she died has Marty admitted to Kelly-Anne's death. Instead he claimed that he and Kelly-Anne were arguing, he threw his hands up in frustration, sending the steak knife with which he'd been eating through the air, stabbing her in the back of the neck. The defense theorized that Kell tripped on a soft-drink bottle and fell back against the stove, which pushed the knife farther into base of her skull, snapping off the blade. Obviously, the jury recognized this tall tale for what it was.

There are a few disturbing differences in how these cases will be prosecuted, however:

--George Huguely has been charged with first degree murder in the death of Yeardley Love. In the state of Virginia, this is a class one felony that carries a punishment of death or life in prison with no parole.
Martin Morin-Cousineau, on the other hand, was charged only with second degree murder in the death of Kelly-Anne Drummond. He will be eligible for parole after 13 years.

Anyone else think there's something seriously wrong with this picture? I could easily make the case that--simply by virtue of the weapon of choice (knife v. hands)--Cousineau intended more deadly harm than Huguely.

Why do Quebecers put up with a justice system that is so lenient to its most violent criminals?

Rest in peace, Yeardley Love

2010-05-04T16:45:00.003-04:00

I don't know what it is about these kinds of crimes, but I can't ever seem to get them out of my head. Another accomplished, athletic young woman cut down in the prime of her life by a man with whom had been romantically involved.

You may have seen the news stories about the "Lacrosse Murders" at the University of Virginia. Yeardley Love, was found dead in a pool of blood in her apartment. Her former boyfriend, George Huguely, has been accused of first degree murder. Both the victim and the accused are 22 and both play lacrosse for UVA. A more detailed summary of the case can be found here. A video is also embedded below.

Yeardley seems like she was a great girl--an elite athlete, she is remembered by her friends as smart, personable, kind, and friendly. I hope that her friends and family will help make that her legacy, rather than the tragic way she died.

I can only imagine what the Love family and all of Yeardley's friends are going through as they try to deal with this horrible tragedy. I will keep them and the entire lacrosse community in my thoughts and prayers.

In the pool

2010-04-05T14:05:00.002-04:00

I've been swimming again a few times in recent weeks, and I must say, I have been enjoying it tremendously. I can't possibly enter an aquatic center without thinking about Kelly-Anne. That's actually one of the things I have been really enjoying. Swimming laps gives me time to think about Kelly-Anne. Everytime I smell the chlorine or see the cute lifeguards watching out for the swimmers I remember precious Kell. I'm not the only one. Doreen, Kell's mom, feels the same way whenever she swims.

Although I would really love to be able to have Kell physically swimming right alongside me, I know she's with me in spirit. And I take great comfort in that.

A Challenge

2010-03-03T13:37:00.006-05:00

Losing someone you love--whether to illness, accident, or murder--is one of the most painful things we can go through on this earth. Everytime we hear of tragedy, we all hope and pray that it isn't our own child, sibling, parent, or friend. But we have no control over such things.

I am firmly convinced that we all have a role to play in encouraging those around us who are struggling with major challenges such as illness and loss. So often, we recognize the magnitude of the tragedy unfolding around us but we think there is nothing we can say or do to make it better or less painful.

I want to challenge you to think carefully about that assumption. There are always ways you can help, whether it is cooking a meal for the family; driving the patient to an appointment; visiting the hospital; sending a card, letter, or email of encouragment; remembering the family in prayer; or simply offering a kind word to someone in need. These are things we need to remember.

So the next time you hear of a tragic illness or loss, I urge you to do SOMETHING. Do not make excuses for yourself about not knowing someone well enough or not knowing what to say. Trust me, a thoughtful gesture--no matter how imperfect--will be rememebered for a long time and will be a big boost for someone in need.

Bon Jovi

2010-03-03T11:17:00.004-05:00

I just got a new CD for my car in honor of Kelly-Anne: Bon Jovi's greatest hits.

I've been driving around these past couple of days rocking out to classic tunes like Livin' on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name, and Blaze of Glory.

I can't help but think about Kell when I listen to these classic tunes. She loved Bon Jovi even when were kids and it brings me right back to a point where I can almost picture her doing Kareoke or rocking out at a lifeguard rant.

Can't close out this post without a classic Bon Jovi video:

Calling all Montrealers

2010-03-01T18:00:00.001-05:00

Mckibbin’s West Island and the Montreal Barbarians Rugby Club invite you to an

Afternoon of Songs & Laughs: Take III
“Celebrating the Spirit of Kelly-Anne”

To raise funds for the
Junior and Elite Athletes
Of the Montreal Barbarians Rugby Club
in memory of Kelly-Anne Drummond
March 20th, 2010 from 2pm - 6pm
6361 Trans-Canada Hwy,Complexe Pointe-Claire,Pointe-Claire, QC H9R 5A5

Live entertainment !

Singer / Song writer Dave Moran
Comedians Mike Paterson, Kevin Gasior & Ryan Wilner

Raffles, Auctions and Door Prizes!

$20 ticket price includes:
1 free beverage, finger food and live entertainment

Come Enjoy the Fun and Support our Aspiring Athletes

Canada's Newest Senator

2010-02-26T16:08:00.003-05:00

Clearly, I'm behind on Canadian news but this still bears mentioning.

Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu was just appointed to serve as a Canadian senator! In 2002, after the tragic murder of hist daughter, Julie, Pierre Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association (AFPAD).

Kudos to Prime Minister Harper for a great decisison. Good luck, Senator Boisvenu.

At long last

2010-01-15T14:16:00.004-05:00

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Nicolas Wright (mentioned previously on this blog here) we were able to put together an amazing video tribute to Kelly-Anne to play at her wake in October 2004. It was a labor of love--Nic, Stephen, and I worked for hours long into the night to create a lasting memory in honor of our dear friend, Kelly-Anne.

For years I have been unable to find a way to upload this video to YouTube. But at LONG LAST I have managed to get it up there for all the world to see. It is gut-wrenching and heart-warming all at the same time. And, more importantly, it brings me back to a place where I can focus on Kelly-Anne's life. I especially love seeing the video clip at the end where she is interviewed by CTV about her lifeguarding accomplishments.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

xoxo,
Rachel

Do the crime, serve your time

2010-01-14T18:59:00.003-05:00

Kelly-Anne's mother, Doreen, has a great post up today on her blog. I encourage you to read it and consider your role in making sure the parole board keeps the man who killed Kelly-Anne in jail for his entire sentence.

What kind of society do we have where you can murder someone in cold blood and be released on parole after 13 years? Talk about miscarriage of justice.

Kelly-Anne deserves better.

Funny Memories--Part Six

2010-01-14T13:10:00.001-05:00

Here is a snippet of a funny memory of Kelly-Anne that was posted on her online condolence book. The full post can be found here.

I only had the opportunity to meet Kelly-Anne in the last year of her life, but I was so amazed and graced by her presence. She always made me laugh and helped me plan my halloween party, even cutting out little paper pumpkins, and she dressed up like Harry Potter. Small little things were fun with Kelly-Anne and we would often talk about joining up to the gym together and then laugh about what big procrastinators we were...

Interesting Comment

2010-01-13T09:26:00.005-05:00

Since starting this blog more than 5 years ago, I have recieved many emails and comments about both Kelly-Anne and the man who murdered her. It is very encouraging when people post comments or send in stories about Kelly-Anne. I really enjoy reading these and Kelly-Anne's mother, Doreen, and I will often exchange emails about how happy we are to read something new about Kelly-Anne.

On the other hand, it is both fascinating and horrifying to read the accounts of person after person who knew Marty in the past and had a negative experience with him. Countless people on the West Island have a "Marty" story, and from these experiences it seems clear to me that there was a definite pattern of escalating issues for a long period of time.

Nothing makes me sadder than when I think of how things ended up. Kelly-Anne is never coming back and Marty locked away in jail (for at least another few years). It makes me especially sad because it was completely and utterly preventable. Marty could have taken his issues seriously and sought professional help. Kelly-Anne could have recognized the patterns and signs of a volatile, abusive individual and ended the relationship before her life was snuffed out. We, Kelly-Anne's family and friends, could have been even more insistent to her that she get out of this relationship before it was too late. Obviously, though, the blame for this horrific act of violence lies with one individual and one individual alone.

I want to share the below comment which appeared on the blog yesterday from someone who knew Marty in the past. I hope it will inspire you to take abuse seriously and make sure that if you find yourself in an abusive situation--either as the abuser or the abused--to seek professional help for your problems before it is too late. To the man who made this comment: thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. At some point in the not-too-distant future, Martin will be up for parole so I hope you will consider supporting the family by sharing your recollections about his character.

I unfortunately knew Martin when I was aged 16 to 21. He had a notoriously volatile temper and was always quick to respond to any confrontational situation in an unusually aggressive manner. I can remember him getting into fights at the slightest provocation. This was often fuelled by alcohol abuse. Martin's older brother wasn't much of a role model, either.

I tried to see the good in Martin, but after years of sharing the same circle of friends, I realized that it was time to grow up and seek a more positive environment.

I remember Martin quitting school after high school. I convinced him to start CEGEP at John Abbott College, but after a short time, he could never fully apply himself, and as a result, dropped out.

I bumped into him years ago with my wife, while we were having our car rust proofed. My first thought was, "I don't want my wife around this guy, and I don't want to socialize with him, either."

Years later, I heard about the murder and was shocked and disgusted. I knew Martin to be angry, but killing his girlfriend over rent money???!!!

Martin could never understand that those flashes of anger that he felt could cause irreparable harm to others.

I offer my most heartfelt condolences to Kelly-Anne's family and friends.

I hope that Martin rots in jail, because I don't think that he has it in him to change and become a regular part of society again. He knows how to pretend that he is sorry without actually feeling any remorse. Hearing his excuse about how the knife flew out of his hand sounds like one of his usual excuses. He never could accept the blame for any of his own wrong-doings. It was always somebody else's fault. If let out of jail, my feeling is that he'll just go back to his old ways.

I did not know Kelly-Anne, but she seems like she was one of the bright, shining stars in the universe.

I hope that Kelly-Anne's memory inspires hope, happiness, and a zest for life for others.

Sincerely,

M

Thirty

2009-11-28T12:01:00.004-05:00

For exactly one month a year, Kelly-Anne, Kimmy, and I were all the same age. Kell and Kim were only eleven months apart, and I celebrated my birthday a little less than a month after Kell. We always thought this little coincidence was funny. Today marked the end of our month of being 29. Today is Kelly-Anne's 30th birthday.

Birthdays are really hard now. On my own birthday I find myself amazed that I am yet another year older and Kelly-Anne is frozen forever at 24. So much has happened in the past five years, and all of it has been without my dear best friend.

I think a lot about what Kelly-Anne's life would be like today if she had lived. What would she be doing for a career? What sport would be her latest obsession? Would she be married? Kids? Would she live in Canada? Or would she have moved someplace else? How would these past five years have changed her?

It does no good to dwell on this, of course. But as my own life passes me by, I can't help reflecting on the lives of those I must live without. Because I can't give Kell a birthday present or a big hug and kiss today, I will instead offer a list of thirty things about her that epitomize the Kelly-Anne I love and miss.

1) Her smile that would light up any room
2) She was ALWAYS up for an adventure
3) Kell knew everyone on the West Island
4) She loved to laugh--often times at herself
5) The. Best. Ringlets. Ever.
6) Was a serious Martha wannabee
7) Had no sense of her limitations--this led her to try tons of things that others never would have
8) Always carried rubber gloves and a face mask. Just in case her emergency services were ever required by someone needing assistance
9) Always sent me a postcard from wherever her travels took her
10) Loved her stuffed animals, Dwayne and Marmaduke
11) Rode her bike everywhere. Rain or shine, and sometimes snow.
12) Took the time to really connect with the kids who she taught--what other daycare educators would rock out to summer of '69 with the kids
13) Used to coax me into driving through the park because my dad did it once when we were 13 and we never laughed harder
14) Gave me my first beer at age 13 in her parents backyard--then scared the living daylights out of me by telling me to sleep on my side in case I vomitted.
15) Would get out her best crafting supplies to write me a letter when I moved to grad school
16) Wrote a special message to my kids in all of my high school yearbooks
17) When she was really stressed she would become totally forgetful. Milk might be left on the counter all day etc.
18) Was so athletic and sporty. Synchro, waterpolo, rugby, competitive lifeguarding and sporty.
19) Always looked out for me in whatever way she could. Was I studying? Was my room clean? Was I wearing my seatbelt?
20) Was tough as nails--tougher than I'd ever be. This girl could rough herself up on the rugby pitch and be perfect a few hours later.
21) Kelly-Anne was always in motion--couldn't stand to be still. Didn't like being indoors much better. Sometimes I find it funny that she even made the time to sleep.
22) One time Kim and I decided to play a prank on Kell. We made up a fake email address and sent her emails from "Crystal Clydes" who supposedly lived near the Drummonds in Dollard. We then waited for Kell to tell us about her long lost friend, which of course she did almost instantaneously. She tried to convince us to go over to Blue Haven and knock on Crystal's door she was so excited. It was at that point we figured we'd better tell her we had invented this poor girl...
23) I was SOOOOOOOOO proud of Kell when she won an award in high school. The girl worked hard and it was great of John Rennie to acknowledge her.
24) A few weeks before she died Kelly-Anne had me editing resumes and cover letters for jobs in television and radio production. She did not give up on that dream, no matter how hard it was to realize.
25) Kell worked hard every year to make Christmas ornaments for those she loved. They were cute and made a great addition to the tree.
26) When Kell as in university at Concordia, she would take random classes in other fields just to learn something new: geology, geography, etc. She was really intellectually curious.
27) Kell-Anne did a project in school where she interviewed our old neighbors from Pierrefonds to get a sense of the history of the street we grew up on. I'm sure these old ladies loved a visit from her!
28) She had a real OBSESSION with cats. Her little cats Katnip and Trixie so sweet and she was equally enamored with Rugger, Toffee, and Pudding.
29) For Kell's birthday in grade five we got to make a music video and then have dinner at Red Lobster. It was great. Our music video was set to Venus by Bannanarama.
30) She was a faithful, true, and wonderful friend.

Surprise!

2009-11-17T09:43:00.003-05:00

Nine years ago this month I hosted a very special party. A surprise birthday party for Kelly-Anne.

She was celebrating her 21st birthday and I decided it was an extra special occasion. Unbeknownst to her I got the emails and phone numbers of all her closest friends and invited them to come celebrate. Everyone was very eager--they loved Kell as much as I did.

We got together that night at Boccacinos, where Kell thought Jeff was taking her for a romantic dinner. Instead she came in to a huge table of friends shouting surprise! We had balloons, drinks, dinner, and a great cake. It was awesome.

Kelly-Anne was truly floored and the look on her face is one I'll never forget. Below is a photo from that special night.

Appeal, Rejected

2009-10-14T15:22:00.000-04:00

Killer's appeal rejected
Court makes decision in minutes; Girlfriend slain by steak knife that flew through air by accident, murderer claims
SUE MONTGOMERY, The Gazette
Thursday, October 8, 2009

Three judges took just 15 minutes yesterday to toss out an appeal by Martin Morin-Cousineau, convicted in April 2006 of murder after he claimed his steak knife flew through the air and accidentally lodged in his girlfriend's neck.

"No one would ever believe a knife could hit with such force," said Nicole Duval Hessler, one of three Quebec Court of Appeal judges hearing the case.

"It's not even a heavy knife. The blade snapped off and stayed inside her neck and the handle was found on the kitchen counter."

In a rare move, the court rendered its decision almost immediately after hearing arguments by the defence and the Crown.

Morin-Cousineau, 35, was found guilty of second-degree murder. He must serve 13 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

His lawyer, Clemente Monterosso, argued yesterday the judge at the Superior Court trial should have given the jury the option of finding Morin-Cousineau guilty of manslaughter, meaning he didn't intend to kill Kelly-Anne Drummond in their Pierrefonds apartment in 2004.

The judge also shouldn't have allowed testimony from two witnesses because it was hearsay, Monterosso said.

The appeals court rejected both arguments.

Morin-Cousineau claimed that while he and Drummond, 24, were arguing, he threw his hands up in frustration, sending the steak knife with which he'd been eating through the air, stabbing her in the back of the neck. The defence theorized that Drummond tripped on a soft-drink bottle and fell back against the stove, which pushed the knife farther into base of her skull, snapping off the blade.

Yesterday, crown prosecutor Michel Pennou pointed out that Morin-Cousineau never said at his trial that he threw the knife. He simply said he threw his hands in the air, noticed the fork had landed next to him on the couch, but didn't know what happened to the knife.

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Five Years

2009-10-02T13:39:00.002-04:00

Five years have passed by in the blink of an eye. My life was forever changed five years ago. I've never quite been the same.

A phone ringing unexpectedly early in the morning--as it did when my parents called that Monday morning to tell me Kelly-Anne had been attacked--can still bring me to my knees. The approach of the crisp fall weather reminds me of what I've lost. The sight of someone with beautiful ringlets and a wide smile can still bring tears to my eyes.

Some of my memories of Kelly-Anne have faded. But some are as clear as if they happened an hour ago. I haven't found anyone or anything to fill the void that Kelly-Anne left in my life. But I have not allowed this to break me, either.

I try to honor Kell's memory and legacy in big and small ways: the photo of her with a Canadian flag on her cheek that hangs above my desk; smiling and dancing at a Great Big Sea concert; endless roadtrip adventures; this blog; a Martha Stewart crafting project.

As we approach yet another unhappy anniversary, I hope you will honor Kell's memory in your own life. Reach out to a friend you haven't spoken to in a while. Encourage a small child or teenager who is searching for his or her path. Attempt a crafting project just for the heck of it. Stop, literally, and smell the roses. You never know how much time you have left.

Funny Memories--Post Five

2009-10-02T13:36:00.001-04:00

This one comes from a comment that was left in Kelly-Anne's online obituary by the mother of one of her students at L'Academie Marie Claire:

"Kelly-Anne was a remarkable person with many facets to her life. I knew her not as an athlete or a team-mate but as a teacher to my young son, Zachary. She encouraged Zachary to express his uniqueness, to laugh loudly, to play boisterously and, most of all, to just have fun. She was a breath of fresh air, and her tragic death has left a hole in my family's hearts. What other educator would play air guitar with Zachary and actually know the words to "Summer of '69" to sing along with him? We were lucky to have had her in our lives -- and are blessed because of it. Doreen and John, you raised a wonderful daughter. I think of you and Kimberley often and hope peace finds you. And I will never forget Kelly-Anne. "

Article from the Hudson Gazette

2009-10-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

A mother's journey
By Suzana Vukic
Hudson Gazette

It happened five years ago but for Doreen Haddad-Drummond, it feels like yesterday. On October 3, 2004, just before midnight, she got a phone call from her ex-husband John Drummond. Their daughter Kelly-Anne had been attacked and was at the Montreal General Hospital. Doreen was half-asleep when she took the call. It all seemed like a dream.

Once at the Montreal General Hospital's trauma unit, in the midst of chaos, she saw Kelly-Anne hooked up to life-support machines. A brain scan revealed a knifeblade still embedded in Kelly-Anne's head. Her brain stem had been severed from her spinal cord. No medical solution existed to fix this. The stabbing left Kelly-Anne brain-dead and paralyzed, unable to breathe without life support.

Doreen wanted to hold on to hope but realized that was impossible. On October 5, 2004, at 3:30 p.m., the family decided to turn off Kelly-Anne's life support.

Martin Morin-Cousineau, Kelly-Anne's boyfriend, stabbed her behind the neck with a steak knife, approaching from behind, in the apartment they shared in Pierrefonds. It emerged that Morin-Cousineau had a history of violence towards women and that Kelly-Anne had been considering leaving him. He pleaded not guilty and claimed the fatal blow was an accident.

At his 2006 trial, a jury found Morin-Cousineau guilty of second-degree murder, a charge which automatically carries a life sentence. He must serve a minimum of 13 years in prison before being considered for parole. He remains unrepentant to this day.

It's hard to fathom a mother coping and going on with the knowledge that her precious daughter, at 24, lost her life at the hands of someone she knew and loved. Yet go on she must, and Doreen has found the courage to do so with great dignity and purpose. Since Kelly-Anne's death, Doreen has been involved with and given support to families of homicide victims. These days, her efforts are focused on speaking at conferences and getting her message out to women who are victims of abuse and violence, urging them to leave their abusers before it's too late. "We've lost too many women in Quebec", says Doreen.

Kelly-Anne left behind her parents and sister Kim, exactly 11 months younger than her and someone for whom Kelly-Anne was a great friend and mentor. Kelly-Anne also had many friends who mourn her to this day. She was a popular young woman, an accomplished athlete and team player. She played rugby and water polo, among other sports, and was a lifeguard. She had gone to Italy weeks before her death to compete at an international lifeguarding competition in Viareggio. Kelly-Anne had graduated with a communications degree from Concordia University in 2002. She worked as an educator in a daycare with small children.

On October 5, the family will commemorate the fifth anniversary of Kelly-Anne's death in a small, private remembrance ceremony.

On September 29, a fundraising women's rugby event was held, as it has been every year at around the same time since Kelly-Anne's death. The Kelly-Anne Drummond Memorial Cup is played between the Concordia and McGill women's rugby teams in her honour (Kelly-Anne played for the Concordia Stingers). This year the money raised will go to Women Aware, an organization that provides support to women facing conjugal violence. Each year in March since her death, the Montreal Barbarians Rugby Club (for whom Kelly-Anne also played) hosts a fundraiser at McKibbin's Irish Pub, West Island, "celebrating the spirit of Kelly-Anne".

On November 28, as in every year since her death, the Quebec Lifesaving Society will hold a cocktail fundraiser for the Kelly-Anne Drummond Foundation to commemorate her birthday at the D.D.O. Aquatic Centre. This is the year she would have turned 30.
All of these events are hosted by Kelly-Anne's friends, peers and fellow athletes, something Doreen finds deeply touching.

Especially heartwarming is a blog created by Kelly-Anne's good friend, Rachel Ayerst, in remembrance of Kelly-Anne (http://kadrummond.blogspot.com). Doreen has also created her own blog in remembrance of her late daughter (http://mydaughterkelly-anne.blogspot.com). In reading it, one can see that Kelly-Anne's spirit is still strongly felt by Doreen as she lives out each day without her. Doreen looks to Kelly-Anne for an example of how best to live life. She sees her daughter as her guide and mentor. Kelly-Anne loved life and people. She had a great sense of adventure, always smiled and laughed, and was forever keen on learning and being involved.

"It's a life sentence that we're living," Doreen says. "Every day that we're alive and that Kelly-Anne isn't here with us is a life sentence."

Funny Memories--Post Four

2009-09-24T11:04:00.003-04:00

Today's funny memory about Kelly-Anne comes from her mother, Doreen, who keeps a wonderful blog over here. Here's an excerpt from Doreen's story. Read the full version here. If you want to read earlier posts in this series, click here, here, or here.

Kelly-Anne really like Ashley McIssac...a singer from the east coast. Kell had a thing for Celtic music. One day, later in the evening, Kell had come home from Waterpolo practice. She had been to school that day, and decided sometime in the morning to leave school to go downtown to find McIssac. He was in town doing a show and Kelly-Anne decided that she would like to have a one on one with him. I was shocked that she just left school without notifying us or her teacher. I said Kell..".how did you do that?" She responded..."Mom, I opened the front door of the school and put one foot in front of the other and left." She rode the bus downtown, walked Ste. Catherine street and low and behold found McIssac walking out of a resto. She spend her quality time with him alone chatting on the street, then made her way back towards home to go to her waterpolo practice...

That sums up Kelly-Anne in a nutshell. She dreamed big and believed things were possible that no one else would every try and attempt. And sometimes, as evidenced by the story above, she succeded!

Funny Memories--Post Three

2009-09-23T10:56:00.000-04:00

Read earlier posts here and here...

Kell used to be obsessed with finding out what our former friends and classmates from elementary and high school were up to. This was actually hard in the pre-facebook era! In particular, she loved discovering that someone was "following their dreams." I can remember her being so happy when she found out that someone who wanted to be a pilot in elementary school had actually followed through. She also like to point out that she too was following her dreams to have a career in communications. Here's a pic of Kelly-Anne at our grade six graduation... when her lifelong dream was to become a television newscaster!

Funny Memories--Post Two

2009-09-22T16:55:00.004-04:00

Here's the latest in the series of funny Kelly-Anne stories... Click here to read the first post from yesterday.

Kelly-Anne was a lifeguard at Fairview Pool for many years. She really loved guarding--it was the perfect way to combine her passion for athletics with her passion for helping people. Each year at Fairview, the staff would get together for a group photo. Kell loved these opportunities, and would always try and top the creativity of last year's photo. In the summer of 2000, she had the brilliant idea of getting the staff to hop aboard a Montreal city bus to take the photo. Here are the awesome results.

Accidentally on Purpose?!

2009-09-21T11:41:00.005-04:00

There are so few "trivial" posts on this blog, that I can't pass up the opportunity to mention that Nic Wright, a dear high school friend mine and Kelly-Anne's, will be starring on the new CBS show, Accidentally on Purpose. The premiere is tonight on CBS. Nic is a very talented actor and I am sure that he is going to be awesome!

Nic actually created the tribute video to Kelly-Anne that was played at her funeral and visitation. He owned a production company at the time and generously volunteered his time to stay up with me late into the night creating the beautiful testament to a life well lived. (Note to self: find a way to get that video on YouTube!)

Anyhow, tune in to the show if you can. I am sure it will be great! I'll leave you with a fun photo of Nic, Kell, and Scott goofing around in Ottawa for Canada Day.

The Kelly-Anne Cup

2009-09-21T11:00:00.002-04:00

The annual Concordia-McGill Women's rugby game played in Kell's honor will be hosted by Concordia University on Tuesday, September 29 at 8 pm at the Loyola Campus field on Sherbrooke Street West.

This is a great event and one that Kelly-Anne really would have appreciated. She loved the chance to play a good rugby game and especially loved to try and beat McGill!

The cost to attend this event is $5 and funds raised will benefit WOMEN AWARE, a non-profit that has been helping women who are victims of domestic abuse for over 13 years. Kelly-Anne's mother, Doreen, works with WOMEN AWARE on some of their initiatives.

Funny Memories--Post One

2009-09-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

I always find myself down in the dumps at this time of year. I think about Kelly-Anne and her tragic death and how much I miss her. Each year, as we head in to the fall, I am reminded that another year has passed without sweet, fun Kell in my life. And as I celebrate my birthday year after year, I am reminded that Kelly-Anne wasn't around to celebrate her own birthday...

To combat this negativity, I've decided to post a series of funny memories about Kelly-Anne over the next month or two. Check back often for a new story, and if you have any ideas or memories abotu Kell, please feel free to send them my way...

Kell was an entreprenurial soul. She used to generate lots of ideas for projects, crafts, business opportunities, you name it. Whenever she would come a up with a new idea and found herself discussing it with a close friend or family member in a public place she would try and protect her intellectual property by making a loud declaration: "that idea has been trademarked by Kelly-Anne Drummond."

If some nefarious character riding on the bus (or wherever Kell was discussing this) had been planning to steal her idea, surely they would be disuaded by this!

You never know...

2009-09-17T17:56:00.010-04:00

Have you been following the news about Annie Le, the brilliant doctoral student from Yale who was found murdered and stuffed into a wall of the campus lab she worked in? It is a tragic story and a very, very sad end to another promising young woman's life.

After a lengthy investigation, police in New Haven have arrested Raymond Clark, a lab tech who worked with Annie, and charged him with murder. This is not a case of domestic abuse--in the end, there's probably nothing that could have saved Annie. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But, according to this article there were plenty of warning signs about Mr. Clark's behavior that should have been red flags for his friends and family.

Mr. Clark's past girlfriend "claimed she had been forced to have sex with him and feared what Clark might do if she broke up with him." A neighbor of his is quoted as saying that Clark was "very controlling of his girlfriend. He wouldn't let her talk to me, or anything."

Do you know someone like this? Are you ever afraid of your significant other? Do you ever just get a "bad feeling" about someone close to you?

If I have learned one thing from Kelly-Anne's death it is this: trust your instincts. If you are worried about someone's character, go to the police station and find out if he or she has a record. If you know someone is abusive and dangerous, take action before it is too late.

Of course it could be different this time. But maybe it won't be. Maybe it will even be worse. You really never know. I can assure you that my strong, confident, and life-loving best friend ignored some serious warning signs. Why did she ignore them? Because she thought things were different and she thought she could handle it. In a million years, Kelly-Anne never thought she would wind up dead.

Obviously, that was not the case. But had she recognized the signs of escalating abuse and gotten out while she still could maybe Kelly-Anne would still be alive today.

When do you stop feeling pain?

2009-07-13T11:35:00.002-04:00

The five year anniversary of my last visit with Kelly-Anne is fast approaching. Sometimes the pain of her death is as raw as it was in the weeks and months that followed her murder.

In the summer of 2004, I had just moved to Washington and Kelly-Anne had just moved into the apartment with Marty. When I went home in early August to move my stuff down to DC I visited with Kell several times. She was SO excited about her new apartment and new appliances. I remember being surprised to see that Kell had a new fridge and stove and washer and dryer. Kelly-Anne was unbelievably careful with her money and this must been one of the biggest purchases she ever made. I was stunned, however, when I saw she had also purchased an expensive looking stereo. When I commented to her that it was out of character, she said Marty had wanted it. I was surprised, but said nothing more.

She had picked out all sorts of paint colours for her walls. In true Kelly-Anne fashion, they were bright and colorful. And there had to be at least six different colors throughout the apartment. (I sometimes wonder if the kitchen of the apartment is still bright yellow?)

We had fun together during that week that I was home. We laughed and talked and acted silly as we always did when we were together. We were both excited for the future: Kelly-Anne was heading to Italy in a month for the lifeguarding comeptition, and I was heading back to DC to begin a new job.

I had no way of knowing then that I'd never see Kell alive again. I wish I had spent more time with her, told her what a good friend she really was. I don't have any siblings and Kelly-Anne was the closest thing to a sister I'd ever have.

We didn't always see eye to eye and we didn't always have the same outlook on life. But we loved each other deeply and saw each other though thick and thin for nearly twenty years.

I doubt I'll ever have another friend like Kelly-Anne...

Four Years

2008-10-04T23:06:00.008-04:00

Sadly, the time has come to mark another year that has passed since Kelly-Anne's murder. Another year that we are deprived of her presence in our lives. Our friend was taken from us so horrifically, and the raw pain of those tragic days in early October 2004 continues to haunt us as we mark the passing of another year.

As time marches on I find that I don't miss Kelly-Anne any less than I did before. And somehow, the perspective of four years seems to make the situation even sadder. I honestly find myself wondering how this could have ever happened to my dear sweet Kelly-Anne. Someone so full of joy and life, eager to experience all life had to offer was snuffed out at the tender age of twenty-four. Unbelievable.

As a tribute to my friend, I have put together a new video on Youtube.com to celebrate her life. Kelly-Anne was able to make everything an adventure... Hopefully those of us that were lucky enough to know her will continue to do the same.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Odds and Ends

2008-09-11T09:55:00.002-04:00

The Fourth Annual Kelly-Anne Drummond Memorial rugby match was held in Montreal this past weekend. I was lucky to be in town and had fun watching the game. More than $1,400 was raised for Chez Doris. McGill ended up defeating Concordia (14-10). Of course, I felt conflicted about who to cheer for. It was great to see Doreen, Kelly-Anne's mom, give out the trophy to the winning team. I'm so happy that this annual event takes place; Kelly-Anne would take much pride in the fact that her former team-mates (and her McGill rivals) are honouring her memory in this way.

This is the time of year where I always get particularly sad about Kelly-Anne's death. As soon as the leaves begin to turn and the weather gets a bit cooler I think about transitions and the fact that another year has passed without her presence in my life.

Hard to believe we’re going on four long years. That’s more than the amount of time we spent in university, and almost the same amount of time that we spent at John Rennie. November 28 has come and gone without celebrating Kell’s twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, or (her lucky) twenty-eighth birthday. Four years since I visited Kelly-Anne’s new apartment on Pierrefonds boulevard and saw the funky paint colours she had chosen for each room. And four years since I woke up that fateful October morning to hear Kelly-Anne’s life had been cut short. It is just plain awful. And so very, very sad.

This year is made even more difficult, I think, by the fact that I am now planning a wedding Kelly-Anne can't be a part of. Every little girl dreams of her wedding and the ladies that will stand by her side as she marries her sweetheart. I have to say I can't picture that day without Kelly-Anne there to celebrate…

Parting Words

2008-03-21T14:09:00.001-04:00

I remember clearly the last time I spoke to Kelly-Anne. It was Saturday, October 2, 2004, the day before she was attacked. It was the first time I had spoken to her since her return from Italy, and I was excited to hear all about her adventure.

She told me the vacation was great, that she had a good time, and that Italy was wonderful. But manner in which she described her experience and the tone that she used made me aware something was wrong. She just wasn’t her usual, bubbly, excited self. It was even more obvious because we weren’t just talking about the mundane or everyday—we were talking about the trip of a lifetime.

I asked her what was wrong, and she told me she didn’t want to get into it. I expressed my sadness that things were so bad between her and Marty that she couldn’t even be excited about such an amazing trip. She told me she agreed, but there wasn’t anything she could do and that we’d talk about it later. I said that was fine and told her that I expected her next trip to be one to come and visit me! She laughed and said that was definitely next on her agenda.

Although we ended on a high note, I hung up feeling sad and upset. How could this be happening to Kelly-Anne? Who was she becoming? What exactly was going on? I had so many questions and no answers. I didn’t know then that I would never have the chance to speak with her again.

After I hung up the phone that sunny Saturday afternoon, I went downstairs and picked up my mail. Amongst the bills and junk mail there was a postcard that Kelly-Anne had sent me from Florence.

I wish I had told her how much I loved her the last time we spoke. Mentioned that she was a great girl and a wonderful person and I was so lucky to have her as my best friend. The last time I spoke with Kelly-Anne wasn’t a particularly happy occasion, but I didn’t know then that we would never again have the chance to talk.

My life changed that day. Not only will I always miss Kelly-Anne. But I’ll never again be exactly the same person I was before her death.

Montreal Barbarians host Fundraiser in honor of Kelly-Anne

2008-03-17T16:34:00.002-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that the Montreal Barbarians Rugby Club will be hosting

"An Afternoon of Songs & Laughs"

on March 29 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

At McKibbon's West Island.

This event will raise funds for the West Island Women's Shelter in memory of Kelly-Anne Drummond. For more information, please visit the Club's website here.

Old Photos

2008-02-24T15:52:00.004-05:00

When someone dies, their friends and family are left with only their memories. And the sad reality is that those memories begin to fade with time. I can remember many things about Kell, but unfortunately those memories aren't as vivid as they were just a couple of years ago.

I just spent some time going through old photos and letters. So many of those photos feature my laughing, smiling, happy, silly, and carefree best friend. And those photos and the memories they depict are all I have left to remember her by. I really love going through the letters and postcards Kell sent me over the years. I'm so happy I held on to these things; it gives me joy to sit quietly and remember my friend.

But inevitably when I get to the final photo or the final postcard I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. There isn't another photo that can be taken or letter that can be written. And that is a bitter pill to swallow.

28

2007-11-28T12:52:00.000-05:00

Kelly-Anne Drummond was born twenty-eight years ago today, on November 28, 1979. This should have been her lucky birthday—but we are not, unfortunately, so lucky. We are not lucky because she is not with us; we can not celebrate with her today. This is the fourth November 28 that has been completely hollow.

Although I can't celebrate with Kelly-Anne today, I still choose to celebrate her. This morning I set my i-pod to play some of her favourite songs: Sleepy Maggie, by Ashley MacIssac; When I'm Up, by Great Big Sea; Summer of '69, by Bryan Adams; and Stacey's Mom, by Fountains of Wayne; and Hasn't Hit Me Yet, by Blue Rodeo. None of this brings her back, but it does make me remember the good times we shared over the years.

I miss you so much, Kelly-Anne. Rest in peace.

Another Tragedy

2007-11-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Jayne McGowan, another lovely young woman whose life was tragically cut short in its prime this week. I remember vividly the feelings after Kelly-Anne died: immense sadness, shock, anger, lonliness, confusion, and guilt. I will be praying for the McGowan family and all those who knew and loved Jayne.

Profile of Kim Drummond in the Gazette

2007-11-01T09:19:00.000-04:00

"It's what we do next that really matters"
By Huntley Addie
Montreal Gazette, November 1, 2007

Losing your son, daughter, sister or best friend in a hideously unjust sudden theft of life has got to be one of the most difficult things human beings face.

So what do we say to this person, our friend or ex-student or co-worker, who has experienced this horrific loss? We say we're sorry - for that is all we have. And, according to Kim Drummond, sister of Kelly-Anne Drummond, who was killed three years ago by her raging boyfriend, "You only need to say it once." We shouldn't treat the person like china; nor should we ignore them; nor treat them like they have some contagion. "For," as Kim continued, "life goes on, and we need to move with it. Who wants pity, really?" Kim asked me to tell her story, and with a smile and a shrug, she wanted: "Maybe to give some advice on what to say to the sister of the murdered chick." We laugh at the use of the word "chick." She's laughing and that's good.

Some might wonder how Kim manages to smile at all. Shouldn't she still be sobbing, depressed - locked up? "Been there, done that," is Kim's reply, and we're smiling again.

When I began at John Rennie, I was a resource teacher working with students with various different needs. I spent a lot of quality time with this caring, intelligent and yet thoroughly disenchanted young lady. High school was a struggle as grammar and math, in particular, thwarted good grades.

Yet this was not a person to wallow in the negative energy that seemed to surround her high school experiences; for she had her sister solidly in her corner, always sweeping that energy away.

After squash matches, Kim, exhausted, would often turn to Kelly Anne, pinching a semi-inch on her thigh or wherever, and say: "I'm sweating like a savage, and yet I'm still not losing weight." To which Kelly Anne would reply: "Don't go into sports to lose weight, Kim. Do it to get better at the sport!" And the words stuck.

Kim Drummond is one of the most dedicatedly selfless people I have met.

Immediately after the traumas of high school, Kim went to Dawson College, then moved to Ontario, ending up at Carleton University in women's studies. It was a tough haul for a student who had always struggled in school but, as she persevered, it soon became the best time.
And through it all, Kelly Anne was there. Kelly Anne, Kim's best friend and mentor, pushed education and athletics above all things. She read and edited Kim's papers, and rallied behind her sister if she faltered.

In October of Kim's final year of university, Kelly Anne was ripped away. After studying thousands of statistics on violent crimes against women, Kim now had her sister as an addition to the stats.

Screaming with pain inside, Kim pressed on and returned to school two weeks after her sister's murder.

"Losing Kelly Anne, losing a sibling, is the most horrible thing. It is. There is no question," Kim told me. "But what I think is most important for people to hear is that my life can still be filled with good things.

"And for the past three years I haven't locked myself in my room. I have graduated from university, worked with the MS Society, volunteered like a madwoman and continued our family tradition of always doing Christmas baskets on our own.

"I have travelled to five countries. I have continued to work at camps for the 'disadvantaged' as I have every summer for the past nine years. It didn't all stop three years ago.

"This past summer, in fact, was my proudest achievement, at Camp Moomba in Port Moody, near Vancouver. This is the only camp in Canada for kids living with, or affected by, HIV/Aids. These kids inspired me to continue pursuing nursing.

"They reminded me how we all need to continue beyond just ourselves."

Huntley Addie is an English and journalism teacher at John Rennie High School.

Three years.

2007-10-03T12:30:00.001-04:00

Three years ago today I lost my best friend. In some ways it seems like yesterday. Her life was taken from her in an instant. In an act of rage and anger she was snuffed out. She fought hard—Kelly-Anne Drummond didn’t want to die. She had great plans for her life: travel, a career in radio or television production, a husband and kids one day, the ability to experience life’s simple pleasures, and eventually growing old, surrounded by her family and friends. But because of the actions of one person, she won’t ever get to accomplish any of those things.

Every day I struggle to figure out how to properly honor Kelly-Anne’s memory. I miss her so much, and I wish more than anything we could have the chance to talk one more time. If I could speak to her again, I’d tell her that I love her and thank her for being such a great friend to me for almost twenty years. I would tell her that nothing has really been the same since she died: I can’t swing by her house to say hi, or pick up the phone for a long chat, or open my e-mail and find a description of her latest adventures. Above all, I’d tell her I was sorry. Sorry that this happened, and sorry I couldn’t do more to help her see that the boy she was dating wasn’t right for her, and was in fact, downright dangerous.

I hope you will all remember Kelly-Anne this week. Do something to honor her memory in some way. And please, above all, try to help your loved ones who might be caught in a bad relationship. Things can go tragically wrong in an instant. Kelly-Anne certainly never thought she would wind up dead. Although Kell is gone, her legacy will live on forever through those who knew and loved her.

2007-01-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

Kelly-Anne Drummond

2007-01-17T12:40:00.000-05:00

Beyond keeping the memory of my dear friend alive, one of the things that I hope this blog will do in the future is help other people who may be facing similar situations. I will never forget how I felt when Kell was murdered. The sadness, anger, disbelief, and pain were overwhelming. I vividly remember constantly feeling lost and hopeless—blaming myself, blaming others around me, even blaming Kelly-Anne herself. These emotions were always there, but it was only when life began to return to normal, and when I began discovering that my normal was forever altered, that they became completely overwhelming.

I can remember wondering how I would ever go on without Kell? How could I possibly be expected to live a normal life again when something so tragic happened? I can remember hours spent in front of my computer desperately hoping that I might find a resource to help me. I knew there were grief counselors and therapists, but they weren’t going to change what happened—no one could bring Kell back. What I was really searching for was a person going through the same thing I was. I think I probably googled thousands of things ranging from “coping with murder” to “how do you deal with the loss of your best friend” and couldn’t find anything that I was really looking for.

I hope this website might be that resource for others. I hope that through my writings I will show that though Kelly-Anne is something that can never be replaced, the pain of the loss will eventually subside somewhat. At first, the grief is so completely overwhelming you can’t begin to understand how your life will ever go on. I vividly remember, maybe a few weeks after Kell was killed, my dad telling me that one day my pain won’t be as raw as it is now. Though he was absolutely right, it actually made me feel worse. If I accepted that the pain wouldn’t always be this bad it might actually mean I was accepting that she really was never coming back. And that, of course, was something I couldn’t really accept.

I could never really find what I was searching for. I wanted someone to tell me what it was like coping with murder. I understood losing people because of illness and tragic accidents, but murder was a completely different ball game. How could someone have decided to take her life? Why should she have suffered such a horrendous fate? Did she know exactly how much she was loved even though none of us got to say goodbye? How could I have spent time with someone who was capable of killing another human being?

Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t have answers to most of these questions, but I have learned to deal with them day by day.

Un-happy Anniversary

2006-10-03T16:33:00.000-04:00

Today is the second anniversary of the terrible attack that claimed Kelly-Anne Drummond’s life. Two years ago today, she went from being a vibrant twenty-four year old with a whole life ahead of her to another tragic statistic. Twenty-four months ago all of our lives changed forever.

There have been many unhappy moments in the last two years. Learning to cope with the grief, intense sadness, anger, rage, disbelief, and pain of losing a daughter, sister, and friend has consumed us. We know we will never be the same again, because we know that the place Kelly-Anne occupied in our lives can never be filled by anything else.

In death, Kelly-Anne’s legacy was stolen from us. She became a statistic—just another woman murdered in 2004 by a boyfriend. But she was so much more than that, as is each woman who suffers this fate. Kelly-Anne was an intelligent, athletic, devoted, patriotic, adventurous, humorous, and loving friend. She meant the world to those who knew her.

Thank you for taking the time to remember Kelly-Anne. Today we not only mourn our loss, but also celebrate her life.

Press Clippings--Part XXXXI

2006-05-02T10:28:00.000-04:00

Murderer must serve 13 years: Kelly-Anne Drummond stabbed to death. 'Our only wish now it that he gets the help he needs ... so he will be somewhat rehabilitated'

By: Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 21, 2006

Martin Morin-Cousineau caught his girlfriend off guard, attacking her from behind and plunging a steak knife into her neck.

Such violence, especially against women, is unacceptable, Superior Court Justice Claude Champagne said yesterday in ruling Kelly-Anne Drummond's killer will have no chance for parole until he has served 13 years in prison.

Last week, a jury found Morin-Cousineau, 32, guilty of second-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence.

The defence had asked for the minimum parole eligibility of 10 years, but the judge went with the Crown's request.

Given that the jurisprudence for parole eligibility in similar cases is 12 or 13 years, the Drummonds were satisfied with the decision.

"Our only wish now is that he gets the help he needs so that if and when he does leave prison, he will be somewhat rehabilitated ... and will never hurt another woman," Doreen Haddad Drummond said.

A teary Micheline Morin-Cousineau, who has been in the courtroom every day since the trial began March 6, said 13 years "is an enormous amount of time."

She continued to back her son's claim that the death was an accident and said the family plans to appeal the verdict.

"It's impossible that he put a knife in Kelly-Anne's neck," she said.

"He's cried over her death ever since Oct. 4."

Drummond, a popular athlete, lifeguard and graduate of Concordia University, was found in a pool of blood Oct. 3, 2004, on the kitchen floor of the apartment she shared with Morin-Cousineau.

The couple had been fighting over $30 owed to their landlord, when Morin-Cousineau got fed up with the "nagging."

He said that when he threw his hands up in frustration, the knife with which he had been eating flew into the air, stabbing Drummond in the back of the neck.

She then slipped on a 7-Up bottle and fell against the stove, which shoved the knife farther into her skull, he said.

Morin-Cousineau's fatal blow immediately turned Drummond, 24, into a quadriplegic and left her unable to breathe on her own. Her family decided to remove life support Oct. 5.

Champagne said Morin-Cousineau has difficulty controlling his anger in relationships with women, and has had a restraining order placed against him by another woman.

"He followed, without success in my opinion, an anger-management training course, and his mother admitted that he often took out his frustrations at home by hitting the walls with his fists and feet," he wrote.

The judge told the Drummonds now that court proceedings were over, he hoped they could move to the next stage of mourning

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Editorial about Kelly-Anne

2006-04-15T17:05:00.000-04:00

The haunting question
Why couldn't the lifeguard save her own life?

By Jack Todd

The Gazette, April 15, 2006

Through a grim coincidence, the Supreme Court of Canada refused Thursday to hear the appeal of convicted killer Tommy Kane, the erstwhile football star sentenced to 18 years in prison for the manslaughter of his wife, Tammy Shaikh, stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.

The same day, sentencing arguments were heard in Montreal for convicted killer Martin Morin-Cousineau, found guilty earlier in the week in the murder of Kelly-Anne Drummond. In the Drummond case, she was the athlete but even her strength and athleticism were not enough to save her from being stabbed in the back of the neck with a steak knife.

There are other parallels: both men proclaiming their innocence and offering excuses so convoluted that they would be ludicrous in another setting. Families shattered, women slaughtered, men unrepentant: That the story line has aged a few millennia makes it no less painful.

The superb reporting of colleague Sue Montgomery has already told all you need to know about Drummond's death and Morin-Cousineau's trial. To extend sympathy to the Drummond family is a hollow gesture - there are acts so heinous that they mock human kindness and reduce our best impulses to the theatre of the inadequate.

The massacre of 14 women at the Ecole Polytechnique in December 1989 first brought home this truth. No words were adequate to describe the horror, no sympathy sufficient, no outrage equal to the magnitude of the crime. Millions of words have been expended on the murders committed by Marc Lepine in that awful winter and no writer has edged close to the black heart of the matter.

And yet even Lepine was in one sense less evil than Kane and Morin-Cousineau. Lepine slaughtered strangers: his weapon spewed death to people he had never met and never would. Kane and Morin-Cousineau killed their partners.

Therein lies what Hannah Arendt, writing on the Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann, called the banality of evil. That crime, the murder of a spouse, partner or loved one, is so appallingly common that it is banal, suburban, commonplace.

Perhaps you saw the statistics in the Gazette story written by Katherine Wilton this week: In 2005, 14 out of 22 women who were murdered in Quebec were killed by a boyfriend, an ex-boyfriend or a member of their family. In 2004, 23 out of 30 women who were killed were attacked by a man they knew. When Drummond was murdered in October 2004, she was one of four women to die at the hands of men in Quebec in an eight-day stretch.

There is no point giving equal time to the noisy men's lobby which insists that poor, put-upon males are victims as well; in 85 per cent of all domestic violence cases, the victim is the woman.
If the same brutal tally involved politicians, say, or lawyers or journalists, the outcry would reverberate through the land. Yet for reasons buried in some atavistic failure to recognize women as fully paid-up members of the human race, we tolerate the abuse, rape, harassment and murder of females as one of those regrettable but unavoidable aspects of life.

Police attitudes have improved since 1989, judges are far more aware of the need to protect women from violent or threatening men but the toll does not ease. The fight for gun control did lead to a limited and unsatisfactory form of gun control and the bureaucratic apparatus of the gun registry.

But men go right on stabbing women to death even in this province, where the massacre created unparalleled awareness of the need to protect women from violent men.

The troubling question at the heart of the Drummond murder is why such a strong, athletic, apparently confident young woman would remain in a relationship in which she had been threatened, why the life-saving champion could not save herself: Morin-Cousineau threatened to hurt Drummond's friends if she watched the 2003 Grey Cup game with them. Before she flew to Italy shortly before her murder, Drummond confided to a friend that Morin-Cousineau had threatened to murder her if she made the trip.

Again and again her parents, suspecting something wrong, tried to intervene; again and again, Drummond held them at arm's length.

"I don't know what we could have done to avoid this," Haddad-Drummond said this week. "There are things I did see, but I had never experienced conjugal violence myself. If I knew then what I know now, I think Kelly-Anne would be alive. But what could I do? I couldn't kidnap her."

Yet it may have to come to that. Is there not some point at which parents ought to be able to kidnap their own child, just as they would if she was being held by a cult?
It's a drastic step, but so is murder. Perhaps the solution lies in direct action to free women from such situations.

It may have to come to such an interventionist approach because somehow, we are still not conditioning young women in our society to refuse to subordinate themselves to cruel, vindictive, abusive or threatening males. There is too often a lack of self-esteem in play which makes it impossible for some women to insist that such behaviour is unacceptable and to walk out at the first hint of violence.

Tammy Shaikh, the mother of Kane's four children, was killed while trying to help her husband by persuading him to enter a drug-rehab facility. Drummond was murdered while trying to preserve a relationship that was not worth having.

Forget making sense of their deaths: it can't be done. To prevent such atrocities in the future - well, perhaps it can't be done, either.

But for Tammy Shaikh and Kelly-Anne Drummond and thousands of other victims of domestic violence perpetrated by men against women, we have to try.

jtodd@thegazette.canwest.com

Press Clippings--Part XXXX

2006-04-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

Kelly-Anne and Kimberly Drummond: Only eleven months apart in age and as close as any sisters ever could be.

Mothers on opposite sides of tragedy: Sentence hearing. 'My son is not an assassin'

By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 13, 2006

They are two mothers in excruciating emotional pain, trying to come to terms with the violent end of their children's romance.

But when it comes to how Martin Morin-Cousineau should be punished for killing Kelly-Anne Drummond, the two women could not be farther apart.

"I believe a life in hell in the gallows of prison for the rest of his life would be the ultimate punishment. He can live each day in hell, being reminded of Kelly-Anne and the beautiful life he destroyed," Doreen Haddad-Drummond told Superior Court as she read from her victim impact statement during sentencing arguments yesterday.

Micheline Morin-Cousineau, breaking her silence for the first time since her son's second-degree murder trial began March 20, told the court she believes the death was an accident.

On Monday, a jury found Martin Morin-Cousineau, 32, guilty of stabbing Kelly-Anne Drummond, 24, in the back of the neck on Oct. 3, 2004. He faces a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

"We were always there for him, no matter what," Micheline Morin-Cousineau told the court, tears filling her son's eyes as he sat shackled in the prisoner's box. It was the first emotion he'd shown since his trial began.

"My son is not an assassin. My son is not a murderer."

After finding they couldn't have children, she and her husband, Jean Cousineau, adopted Martin and his brother Michel from an orphanage near Riviere des Prairies when the boys were just 15 months and 21/2 years old, respectively.

Yesterday, she wondered aloud why her son, who had started life in a prison of sorts, would now spend the better part of his adulthood in another jail.

The couple sent their boys to private schools. Growing up in Pierrefonds, they learned to speak English while playing on the street and on hockey teams.

At age 12, Martin went to France on an exchange program - a trip "that changed his life," his parents say. Later, he would spend a summer travelling and working odd jobs in Europe.

He attended John Abbott College, then started a degree in business administration at either Concordia or McGill University - his mother wasn't sure which. Finally in 2003, he landed his "dream job" as a travel agent.

Drummond's death resulted from an argument she and Morin-Cousineau had over $30 owed to their landlord. The couple had just moved into a Pierrefonds apartment that August.

Morin-Cousineau maintained the steak knife he was using to eat dinner flew into the air when he threw up his hands in frustration. The next thing he heard was a thump, then glass shattering.

When he ran to the kitchen, Kelly-Anne was lying face-up in a pool of blood on the floor. A brain scan later revealed a 9.5-centimetre blade embedded in her neck. She died Oct. 5.

There were sniffles and sobs in the courtroom yesterday in what was arguably the most emotional day of the trial. Kim Drummond took the stand and spoke publicly about the death of her sister, born 11 months to the day before her.

"The day I walked into the hospital room and found my sister hopeless and lying in the bed ... my parents screaming for her to wake up - this is a constant image that will never leave my mind."

The Drummonds' only surviving child said she worries about her parents.

"It scares me to accept the fact my parents will get older and sadder at times, and it's only me now that has to help them.

"I honestly don't feel I can provide as much strength and courage as everyone says I have."

Crown prosecutor Helene Di Salvo, asking for no parole for at least 13 years, listed conjugal violence cases in which women were shot, stabbed or strangled. Superior Court has been setting parole eligibility at about 12 years in such cases, she said.

Di Salvo noted the jury that found Morin-Cousineau guilty recommended no parole for 15 years - something the judge is not bound to accept.

Defence lawyer Nellie Benoit, asking for the minimum eligibility of 10 years, said Drummond died during an impulsive act.

"There was one knife, not 15, not five, but one," she said. "She wasn't tortured for hours. It was instantaneous. ... He called 911, he didn't disappear to Mexico or cut her into 15 pieces, or hide the body or the knife.

"It's sad, but it could have been worse."

When Di Salvo questioned Benoit's take on violence, Justice Claude Champagne interjected: "At the end of the day, Madame Drummond is dead."

The judge is to render his sentence Thursday.

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Press Clippings--Part XXXIX

2006-04-15T11:55:00.000-04:00

A history of violence: courthouse can be useful resource for women: Criminal records are public; Do the research if you have fears about your partner, slain athlete's mother urges

By Katherine Wilton

The Gazette, April 12, 2006

After Martin Morin-Cousineau threatened to hurt Kelly-Anne Drummond's friends if she watched the 2003 Grey Cup game with them, her mother suggested she go to her local police station to find out whether he had a criminal record. After a brief visit to a station on the West Island, Drummond told her parents Morin-Cousineau had parking violations.

Privacy laws prevented the Montreal police from telling Drummond her boyfriend had been charged and acquitted of uttering death threats earlier that year, and that he was prevented from possessing weapons.

On Monday, a jury convicted Morin-Cousineau of stabbing Drummond to death in October 2004.

Drummond could have learned about Morin-Cousineau's previous run-ins with the law if she had made a trip to the Montreal courthouse, where anyone can access criminal or civil records."The court records are public," said Anne Proulx, director of the courthouse clerk's office in Montreal

Drummond's mother, Doreen Haddad-Drummond, said yesterday women who fear their partners might be violent should go to the court-house to see if they have criminal records.

In fact, Giovanni Diamente, who works at the information desk at the main courthouse in Old Montreal, said he is often asked by women whether it is possible to verify whether their partners have criminal records.

"That is 'the question' that we get here," Diamente said. "I get at least two requests a day."

Anyone seeking information on someone's criminal background is sent across the hall to the criminal court clerk's office, where staff members look up the information on a court computer and provide rudimentary explanations of what is in the file.

Other crimes, such as assault and drunk driving, may be handled by local municipal courts, which are also open to the public.

Martin Dufresne, who heads a group called Montreal Men Against Sexism, urged victims of conjugal violence to seek help immediately if they are threatened, because it is often their partners who end up killing them.

Last year, 14 out of 22 women who were murdered in Quebec were killed by a boyfriend, an ex-boyfriend or a member of their family. In 2004, 23 out of 30 women who were killed were attacked by a man they knew.

kwilton@thegazette.canwest.com

Press Clippings--Part XXXVIII

2006-04-11T19:09:00.000-04:00

Boyfriend guilty of murder
Family relieved that Morin-Cousineau will be behind bars

By Marc LaLonde

The Chronicle, April 12, 2006

After some white-knuckle moments over the course of the five-day deliberation period, the jury came back with a verdict in the murder of Kelly-Anne Drummond.Her former boyfriend, Martin Morin-Cousineau, will now spend at least the next decade of his life in prison after being convicted of the second-degree murder of his girlfriend in their Pierrefonds apartment in October 2004.

The verdict brings to an end nearly 18 months of worry, stress and heartache for Doreen Haddad Drummond and John Drummond — and now might leave them even emptier considering what Martin Morin-Cousineau took away from them that fateful night.

“We have nothing to show for (all the heartache) except other than a monster will be off the streets of Montreal and he won’t be able to hurt any other women,” said John Drummond, emotionally.

When the jury came back to the courtroom in the Palais de Justice, it was clear they didn’t buy Morin-Cousineau’s story about an accident in the kitchen and a thrown steak knife causing her death — Morin-Cousineau even admitted on the stand that the relationship probably wasn’t going to last — recommending Judge Claude Champagne sentence Morin-Cousineau, now 32, to a minimum of 15 years in prison for a second-degree murder that carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 25.

“I don’t think they bought it at all. I don’t think anyone bought it,” said John Drummond. “I thought it was impossible, right from the get-go, that (Kelly-Anne’s death) was an accident. After watching the arm movement he claims to have made in the police interrogation video, anyone could’ve seen that it was impossible for things to have happened the way (Morin-Cousineau) claimed they happened.

Morin-Cousineau, who was adopted by Pierrefonds residents Jean and Micheline Cousineau at three years old, displayed little emotion as the verdict was read. His parents also declined to comment to media following the decision.

Doreen Haddad Drummond said she was most relieved by the notion that Morin-Cousineau will be behind bars — away from women — for a while.

“I feel better than I did before the verdict, but you know, no one wins in these things. The important thing is that society is protected from this guy. That’s what’s important here. The jurors sent a message to society that we’re going to take conjugal violence very seriously,” she said.

Prosecutor Hélène Di Salvo said Drummond’s death should serve as a warning to other women in abusive relationships.

“There are women who are threatened, beaten and harassed and think they can deal with it themselves. But get help when you see the yellow light; don’t wait for the red light,” she said.

Morin-Cousineau also had a history of threatening behaviour toward women; he had previously been the subject of a restraining order brought against him by another woman.

John Drummond said the Drummonds never really took a liking to Morin-Cousineau, saying there was something unsettling about him.

“It wasn’t at the very beginning that we thought something was wrong, but eventually. They met in August 2003, and things started to change in late fall. My partner and I went down to Mexico for a vacation and we met with Doreen before we left. I said, ‘I don’t like Marty, I don’t want him in my house or staying at my house.’ Doreen and I both had reservations about him,” he said, continuing on to a story about the Grey Cup 2003 — where the Edmonton Eskimos pounded the Montreal Alouettes — and the couple couldn’t agree on where to watch the game, so they were in different places. He called the house repeatedly that night, looking for Kelly-Anne, and getting more and more threatening each time,” Drummond said.

“He explained to me later that he had been under pressure from his family or some nonsense, but you could see he was lying. His whole adult life has been one big lie. He’s a false person.”

Drummond said despite that, at least the Morin-Cousineau family will still be able to see their son and talk to him, contrary to what the Drummonds have been through.

“All we can do is go to Rideau Memorial Gardens in Dollard des Ormeaux and that’s all we can do. That’s no solace at all.”

Friends and supporters were always on hand at the courthouse all through the deliberation process and took much of the burden off the Drummond family, John Drummond said, but he said special thanks have to go to West Island Community Resource Centre head Ann Davidson and Association des Familles de Personnes Disparus ou Assassinés (AFPAD) chief Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for tomorrow morning at the Palais de Justice. John, Doreen and Kim Drummond (Kelly-Anne’s younger sister) will all give victim-impact statements.

2006-04-11T09:55:00.000-04:00

Though Kelly-Anne is forever lost to us, we remember her spirit each day. We remember how she was in life, not just in her tragic death. She was a true original: kind, funny, intelligent, athletic, spunky, and full of boundless energy.

A beautiful article about Kelly-Anne

2006-04-11T08:59:00.000-04:00

Her dream was 'to stay young forever': Something was wrong, but parents felt hopeless in face of abuse. 'I couldn't reach her,' victim's mother says

By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 11, 2006

The photograph shows a smiling young woman, a guide book and map of Italy clutched under her left arm, a camera around her neck, and behind her, the imposing statue of Neptune watching over the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

She's beaming, as any 24-year-old would on her first trip to Europe. Her right hand is raised, in position to toss a coin over her broad swimmer's shoulders into the famous water behind her.

Just a few weeks later, after her violent death at the hands of her boyfriend, Kelly-Anne Drummond's parents would discover her wish carefully recorded in her travel diary: "To stay young forever."

- - -

At 10:58 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2004, John Drummond's phone rang in his Pierrefonds house. Picking up, he heard the distraught voice of Micheline Morin-Cousineau, the mother of Kelly-Anne's boyfriend, Marty.

She was crying, saying Kelly-Anne was in the hospital, but Drummond couldn't get any details."She just said, 'Marty hit Kelly-Anne'," he recalls. "She said, 'Je m'excuse, je m'excuse.'

"Panicked, Drummond called his ex-wife, Doreen Haddad-Drummond, who, sound asleep, didn't respond at first, thinking the ringing was part of a dream. Dazed, she picked up. John said, "Kelly-Anne's been hit."

She called their friends, Jay and Val Ayerst, then she and her partner, Jules Seguin, ran outside to await their arrival. They flagged down a passing police cruiser, and once the Ayersts arrived, Jay Ayerst and Seguin spoke with the officers."

They came back to us in the car and there was dead silence," Haddad-Drummond recalls. "They said, 'They're escorting us downtown.' I knew at this point this was something terribly horrible."

- - -

John Drummond headed to the Lakeshore General Hospital - the closest place to start looking for his daughter. But the receptionist insisted Kelly-Anne wasn't there and after a bit of digging, informed Drummond she had been transferred to the Montreal General Hospital."

I almost died on the spot because there are two trauma units in Montreal and one is at the General," he recalls.

Heading east on Highway 20, his mind racing, he got caught in a construction maze, and ended up lost. But when he finally reached the General, the first thing he asked the doctor was, "Is my daughter alive?"

"Yes," came the answer. "But she's been attacked and has a knife in her head. We had to shave her head and she's breathing on an apparatus in emergency."

- - -

A year earlier, Kelly-Anne , a fresh communications graduate of Concordia University and, always a sports buff, was working as a lifeguard in an apartment building on Gouin Blvd. in Pierrefonds when she struck up a conversation with one of the tenants.

She invited her mom to meet Martin Morin-Cousineau and the three had coffee and Key lime pie at Rockaberry's on Sources Blvd."

He seemed cute, they seemed cute together," Haddad-Drummond recalls."

He was very nice."

But with time, Kelly-Anne's parents started feeling uneasy about their daughter's new beau: He'd sleep in till late in the afternoon and he didn't seem to have steady work, despite claims of having a business degree from McGill University.

He had no interest in her friends or her sports, preferring TV and beer instead.

But most worrisome was when Kelly-Anne asked to borrow her father's car to go to the police station and ask about Morin-Cousineau's past. Her dad offered to accompany her, but, as always, she said she could handle it on her own.

All the police told her, according to John Drummond, was that Morin-Cousineau had parking violations, although his record shows there was a restraining order against him for having made death threats in 2002 against another woman.

A few months later, during the Grey Cup game, Morin-Cousineau called Drummond's house "at least 25 times between 8 and 10 p.m., looking for Kelly-Anne," Drummond recalls.

But when her parents raised their concerns with her, Kelly-Anne brushed them off."She said, 'Don't worry, Mom'," Haddad-Drummond recalls. "She'd say, 'He's travelled to Europe, he's done this, he's done that,' he's so friggin' perfect."

hy would you think any different?"

- - -

A year later, the couple decided to move in together and signed a lease for a place on Pierrefonds Blvd.

Haddad-Drummond remembers her daughter being excited about fixing up her very first apartment. The two went shopping at the Bay for a set of Lagostina pots and pans. Both sets of parents pitched in, helping with the painting.

But the nagging doubts continued in her parents' minds. One night, Kelly-Anne asked her dad if she could spend the night at his place.

The next morning, he decided to confront his daughter.

"OK, what's going on with you and Marty?" Drummond asked her.

He recalls her saying that everything was fine, it was just that she wasn't used to their bed or the noise from the street. Drummond didn't believe her, since the bed had been one she'd slept on at her mom's place.

When pushed, Kelly-Anne blew up at her dad, saying she didn't want to talk about it.

- - -

Five weeks after moving in with Marty, Kelly-Anne couldn't find any of her photos on her computer and called her mom's partner to come over and help her.

He and Haddad-Drummond arrived at the apartment, only to find it in the chaotic mess it was the day they'd moved in. Seguin inspected the computer and concluded the files had been deliberately deleted by someone and were irretrievable."

Marty was still in bed and it was about 5 o'clock, close to suppertime," Haddad-Drummond remembers."

We had the sensation we were overstaying our welcome and that Kelly-Anne wanted us to leave."

Then Morin-Cousineau walked past them, without saying hello, into the bathroom and closed the door behind him."

We left and I felt very low," Haddad-Drummond recalls. "There was something desperately wrong and I couldn't pin it down.

"I couldn't reach her."

It got to the point where Kelly-Anne never invited her parents over, and when they dropped by unannounced, she'd open the door just a crack."

This is what breaks my heart," Haddad-Drummond says. "Here she is with this brand new apartment, a new set of pots and pans, all new appliances, ceiling fans and lights, and she looked so happy and excited," she said. "I know she would've loved to have had us over - she was a real Martha Stewart."

But we were never invited."

- - -

On Sept. 15, 2004, Kelly-Anne flew to Italy alone for a life-guarding competition. There, she confided in teammate Philippe Major that things weren't going that well with Morin-Cousineau, and that he'd threatened to kill her if she took the trip. Morin-Cousineau had booked her ticket for her during his most recent job as a travel agent, but threatened to cancel it several times.

In one of the MSN Messenger exchanges during the trip, Morin-Cousineau told his girlfriend he liked the fact when he got home from work, she wasn't in the apartment waiting to fight with him.

"I said she could stay there as far as I'm concerned," Morin-Cousineau admitted during his trial.

After 12 days of sightseeing and competing, Kelly-Anne's father picked her up at the airport in Dorval, but as the two entered her apartment, Morin-Cousineau didn't even get off the couch to greet her.

Drummond kissed and hugged his daughter goodbye and at the same time, whispered in her ear: "Do you want to go?"

When she said no, Drummond said: "If you feel you have to go, call me and I'll be here as soon as I can."

Drummond recalls his daughter's answer, which haunts him to this day. "No, Dad, I'll be fine."

- - -

Five days later, Kelly-Anne had dinner at her dad's place, regaling him with stories about her trip and presenting him with a bottle of Italian wine and a green tie with blue flecks that she had brought home with her.

She called Haddad-Drummond from her father's place and told her she'd bought her underwear and portraits she'd brought from Italy for her coming 50th birthday on Oct. 17.'

"How's Marty?" Haddad-Drummond remembers asking her daughter.

"You know, Mom," she recalls Kelly-Anne saying. "I have to be more respectful of him."

Haddad-Drummond remembers wanting to say, "Like hell. You were brought up to respect people, you don't need to learn that at 24." But she bit her tongue.

"That's the last time I spoke to her."

- - -

The following day, Oct. 3, the couple's landlord came to the door in the afternoon to say the couple still owed $30 on that month's rent, then left. Drummond asked Morin-Cousineau why he hadn't paid it. Her nagging, he told court, started to get on his nerves, and he yelled from the couch in the living room, where he sat watching television and eating, "F---! Enough!"

On the recorded 911 call made at 8:08 p.m., Morin-Cousineau's panicked voice is heard saying: "We got in a little bit of a fight. I went ... I got mad ... I got mad. I went to throw ... she got scared, she sort of slipped, fell into the stove."

Minutes later, paramedics found her lying face-up on the kitchen floor in a massive pool of blood. There was a 9.5-centimetre steak knife blade lodged inside her neck, the snapped-off handle on the counter.

- - -

Outside Kelly-Anne's room at the hospital, Haddad-Drummond remembered, she held the shoulders of a young female police officer - who didn't look any older than Kelly-Anne - shaking her and saying: "Listen to your mother."

The other officer guarding the room had tears in her eyes, and when Haddad-Drummond asked why, she replied: "My sister is going through the same thing" as Kelly-Anne.

In fact, Haddad-Drummond's two daughters, Kim and Kelly-Anne, had always listened to her, and rarely gave their parents a hint of trouble. She'd sew them matching outfits in different colours, the two attended Brownies and Guides, were altar girls at the local Anglican church and were heavily into sports, especially swimming and rugby. In 2003, Kelly-Anne won the Canadian Surf Ski Championship.

How, she couldn't help wonder, had it come to this? That her baby was on a stretcher, her life taken from her by someone she apparently worshipped?

What the family learned from doctors was next to impossible to accept. The knife blade had severed Kelly-Anne's spinal cord, turning her immediately into a quadrapalegic and making it impossible for her to breath without a machine."

I remember lying beside her the night of the 4th," Haddad-Drummond said, sitting out the excruciatingly long wait for a verdict."

Her body felt so warm and comfortable and normal and her colour was good but, of course, she was hooked up to all kinds of machines."

As the hours passed, the machines showed Kelly-Anne's heart rate increasing.

"I didn't want my poor baby to explode, to have a heart attack."

- - -

At 3:30 in the afternoon on Oct. 5, Kelly-Anne's parents decided to remove the machines. John couldn't bring himself to be in the room.

Of course, the Drummond family is tormented by what ifs and if onlys. They scan her coveted diary of her trip to Italy for hidden clues, examine her face in the photos, to no avail.

"I don't know what we could have done to avoid this," Haddad-Drummond said, letting out a deep sigh.

"There are things I did see, but I had never experienced conjugal violence myself."

If I knew then what I know now, I think Kelly-Anne would be alive. But what could I do? I couldn't kidnap her."

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Press Clippings--Part XXXVI

2006-04-11T08:46:00.000-04:00

Elite athlete's boyfriend found guilty: Stabbed Kelly-Anne Drummond; 'Get help when you see the yellow light'

By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 11, 2006

For the past three weeks in the Montreal courthouse, a silent but deeply emotional feud between two families, once joined by their children's romance, was being fought to the finish. One side desperately wanted the jury to reach a guilty verdict; the other was praying for an acquittal.

Yesterday, after four nail-biting days of deliberation, the seven-man, five-woman jury found Martin Morin-Cousineau guilty of stabbing Kelly-Anne Drummond to death.

On one side of the room, Micheline Morin-Cousineau clutched a wad of tissues, her eyes filling with tears, her body trembling. There was no one to console her, not even her husband, Jean Cousineau, who, as he has throughout the trial, showed no emotion. Their 32-year-old son sat, shackled, within view in the prisoner's box, shaking his head and mumbling to himself. His defence was that the death was an accident.

Directly across the aisle from the Morin-Cousineaus, John Drummond crossed himself, and Doreen Haddad-Drummond wiped tears from her eyes. With them sat their new partners; their marriage ended seven years ago. Their surviving daughter, Kim, born 11 months to the day after her big sister, also sat with them.

Behind the family, row after row of supporters, from battered women groups to long-lost relatives, heaved sighs of relief.

Haddad-Drummond, obviously relieved that the waiting was over, said she was happy no other women will be hurt by Morin-Cousineau, who has a history of violence against women.

"It's a victory because we can't afford to lose any more young women in Quebec," she said.

The Morin-Cousineaus politely declined an interview, saying the entire ordeal has been terribly difficult for them.

"Torn apart, all of us," Micheline Morin-Cousineau said while awaiting a verdict, shaking her head, her eyes filling with tears.

The Pierrefonds couple had adopted Martin at age 3, along with his brother, Michel, just 13 months between them. According to the Drummonds, the Morin-Cousineaus were crazy about their son's girlfriend, Kelly-Anne. She worked with children, was outgoing and an elite athlete and, like Micheline, had a keen interest in crafts.

The Drummonds, on the other hand, had reservations about their daughter's choice of boyfriend, but were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, even when the two moved in together in August 2004. It's a decision they've second-guessed ever since.

On Oct. 3, 2004, an angry Morin-Cousineau stuck a steak knife in the back of his girlfriend's neck, severing her brain stem. She died two days later when life support was removed.By all accounts, Kelly-Anne was articulate and intelligent and was surrounded by supportive friends and family. She had insisted she could work things out with her new beau on her own.

"Kelly-Anne Drummond was not a weak woman," crown prosecutor Helene Di Salvo said. She said she hoped the case would encourage other women in abusive relationships to seek help."

There are women who are threatened, beaten and harassed and think they can deal with it themselves," she said. "But get help when you see the yellow light. Don't wait for the red light."

Sentencing arguments are scheduled for Thursday. The Drummonds will give victim-impact statements.

Press Clippings--Part XXXV

2006-04-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

Jury rules stabbing death was no accident
Apr 10 2006 04:15 PM EDT
CBC News

Martin Morin-Cousineau has been convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of his girlfriend, Kelly-Anne Drummond.

Martin Morin-Cousineau was sentenced to life in prison.She died of a knife wound to the back of the head 18 months ago in the couple's apartment in Pierrefonds.

Jurors delivered their guilty verdict after nearly four days of deliberations.

Morin-Cousineau shook his head as he heard the verdict.

Members of Drummond's family gasped and some cried quietly after the announcement. Drummond, 24, had told relatives and friends in the weeks before her murder that she feared for her safety. She said she wanted to leave Morin-Cousineau but didn't know how.

He testified they had been fighting the night of her stabbing, and told jurors the knife entered the back of her head by accident.

Martin-Cousineau claimed he was in the living room eating a pork chop when he threw his hands up in the air and the steak knife he was holding flew out.

The knife travelled through the apartment to the kitchen where Drummond was standing, and entered the back of her head, he told jurors.

Martin-Cousineau testified Drummond slipped on a soft drink can, and fell into the stove, which forced the blade 9.5 centimetres into her skull.

Drummond's parents say she's smiling down from heaven as a result of the verdict.

Martin-Cousineau will be sentenced to life in prison. The judge will decide how long he'll have to serve before being allowed to seek parole.

Justice for Kelly-Anne

2006-04-10T15:21:00.000-04:00

Martin Morin-Cousineau has been found guilty of murder in the second degree. There aren't any words to describe how such a day feels. Though nothing can bring my dear friend back, it is a huge relief that her murderer was convicted of this terrible crime.

The Verdict...

2006-04-10T13:32:00.000-04:00

Guilty of Murder in the Second Degree

Press Clippings--Part XXXIV

2006-04-09T11:39:00.000-04:00

Jury still deliberating in murder trial

The Gazette, April 09, 2006

The jury in Martin Morin-Cousineau's second-degree murder trial finished deliberating yesterday without reaching a verdict, causing increased anxiety in the victim's family.

The seven men and five women have been sequestered since Thursday at 2:45 p.m., trying to decide whether to acquit or convict the 31-year-old in the death of Kelly-Anne Drummond.

The defence argued Drummond was hit accidentally by a steak knife, which flew out of Morin-Cousineau's hands on Oct. 3, 2004. Lawyer Sacha Blais said Drummond then slipped on a 7up bottle, and fell against the stove door, which then shoved the 9.5-centimetre blade deep into Drummond's skull.

She was declared dead two days later.

Crown prosecutor Helene Di Salvo argued Morin-Cousineau deliberately stabbed Drummond, 24, because she wanted to end their relationship.

Deliberations continue today.

Press Clippings--Part XXXIII

2006-04-08T22:14:00.000-04:00

Morin-Cousineau murder trial stalls
Jury fails to reach verdict on 1st day of deliberations in murder trial

The Gazette, April 08, 2006
The jurors in Martin Morin-Cousineau's trial for second-degree murder retired to their hotel rooms last night without reaching a verdict.

They are to reconvene at 9 a.m. today to deliberate on what happened Oct. 3, 2004, when Morin-Cousineau, 32, had an argument with his live-in girlfriend, Kelly-Anne Drummond, 24.
During the three-week trial, the court heard that while Morin-Cousineau was eating dinner in the living room, he threw his hands up in frustration, causing his utensils to fly into the air.

Drummond, who had been standing in the kitchen, was found lying in a pool of blood, a 9.5-centimetre knife blade in the back of her neck. The defence contends she died accidentally; the Crown argues the accused killed her deliberately because she wanted to leave him.

At one point yesterday, the jury, judge and lawyers in the case were recalled to Courtroom 3.11 at the Montreal courthouse. But the jurors just wanted to know if they could have a 4.5-metre measuring tape, an extension cord and a better system for listening to the 911 call Morin-Cousineau made on Oct. 3, 2004.

They also wanted to review videos of an experiment in which knives were thrown at a pig's carcass, and to see the video of Morin-Cousineau's statement to police, in which he indicated the movement of his hands when he shouted "Enough!" at Drummond.

Superior Court Justice Claude Champagne allowed them the extension cord.

Press Clippings--Part XXXII

2006-04-07T09:37:00.000-04:00

"Murder case in jury's hands: Must decide whether there was intent to kill"

The Gazette, April 7, 2006

Martin Morin-Cousineau's fate is now in the hands of 12 people.

Superior Court Justice Claude Champagne gave his instructions to the seven-man, five-woman jury yesterday before they were sequestered to decide whether Morin-Cousineau is guilty of second-degree murder.

Morin-Cousineau, who turned 32 yesterday, claims his live-in girlfriend Kelly-Anne Drummond died accidentally in 2004.

If the Crown has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt he intended to kill her, the judge told the jurors, they must acquit the former travel agent.

The Crown contends Morin-Cousineau stabbed Drummond, 24, on purpose because he didn't want her to leave him.

The couple had been arguing in their Pierrefonds apartment on Oct. 3, 2004, over $30 owed to the landlord. Morin-Cousineau, who was eating dinner in the living room, got tired of Drummond's "nagging" and threw his hands in the air, the three-week trial was told.

A fork fell out of his right hand and the steak knife in his left hand flew into the air. The defence theorizes the knife hit Drummond in the back of the neck, causing her to slip on a 7up bottle and fall against the oven door. The fall then pushed the 9.5-centimetre blade into Drummond's spinal cord, cutting off her breathing.

She died two days later.

Ringing in the New Year

2006-04-06T17:47:00.000-04:00

I can't resist sharing this adorable image with you all. This is a picture one of Kelly-Anne's friends sent me. It was taken on New Year's Eve in 2002. It perfectly captures her beauty, her confidence, her fun-loving nature, and her boundless energy. Kell was always ready for an adventure, and I think you can see that in her eyes.

When Kelly-Anne was murdered Montreal lost a truly wonderful person; she was by no means perfect, but her presence is sorely missed by everyone who knew her. Kell was one of those rare gems in life who truly contributed to society, and who mean't so much to so many...

Kelly-Anne at Concordia

2006-04-06T09:06:00.000-04:00

One of Kelly-Anne’s friends (and classmates) from Concordia wrote me today, and she provided me with an adorable picture of Kelly-Anne in her element in the Concordia sound studios.

Here is what Jenny had to say about Kelly-Anne: “She touched everyone who knew her. Her ambition, her drive and her smile made the people around her want more from themselves. I wish I had known her better... This photo is of Kelly-Anne working on a sound project in the Concordia sound studios, I was working across the hall in another studio. We all used to spend many looong nights in those studios. But Kelly-Anne was always all smiles.”

Thanks so much for writing, Jenny! I really appreciate it more than I can express. Anyone else who has memories or photos of Kelly-Anne that they would be willing to share is most welcome to e-mail me.

Press Clippings--Part XXXI

2006-04-06T08:46:00.000-04:00

"Accidents happen, lawyer in murder case tells jury: But prosecutor casts doubt on defendant's testimony"

By: Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 6, 2006

Chances are slim that a steak knife tossed by Martin Morin-Cousineau from another room penetrated Kelly-Anne Drummond's neck, causing her to slip on a bottle and hit her head against a stove door, thrusting the knife farther into her skull, defence lawyer Sacha Blais argued yesterday.

But accidents do happen, Blais told the jury during closing arguments at Morin-Cousineau's second-degree murder trial in Quebec Superior Court.

"Accidents are the exception," he said. "They aren't the norm or the average."

And if Drummond, Morin-Cousineau's live-in girlfriend, died by accident because of the 2004 incident, the jury must acquit his client, Blais said.

But prosecutor Helene Di Salvo called Morin-Cousineau's testimony a "festival of 'I don't remember,' 'I have no idea,' 'I assume' and 'I presume.' "

The accused's statements to police and his testimony were full of contradictions, Di Salvo said, and he didn't have the attitude of someone who had just killed his girlfriend by accident.

Morin-Cousineau deliberately killed Drummond, 24, because she wanted to leave the relationship, Di Salvo said.

The trial has heard how the couple were arguing on Oct. 3, 2004, over $30 owed to their landlord. Morin-Cousineau, who turns 32 today, was eating pork chops and noodles in the living room; Drummond was in the kitchen.

At one point, Morin-Cousineau threw up his hands and shouted "Enough!" His fork was beside him on the couch, but it was never clear where the knife ended up. Then he heard a thump and glass breaking in the kitchen.

He found Drummond lying in a pool of blood, a knife handle under her head. A brain scan later found a 9.5-centimetre blade lodged in the back of her neck.

Morin-Cousineau called 911 and in a panicked voice asked for help.

"He wasn't trying to hide anything," Blais said. "He said they'd had a fight."

But Di Salvo noted Morin-Cousineau also washed his hands, paced the apartment and took the time to put on pants and socks instead of attending to his girlfriend's injury.

Drummond died two days later.

Justice Claude Champagne is to instruct the jury today.

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Press Clippings--Part XXX

2006-04-06T08:41:00.000-04:00

Quebec: Knife-throwing tests contradict Testimony
Nanaimo Daily News
April 5, 2006

It took several throws before a steak knife with a blade similar to the one found in Kelly-Anne Drummond's head penetrated and remained in flesh, Martin Morin-Cousineau's second-degree murder trial heard Monday.

Benoit Anctil, a mechanical engineer who works for a company that designs protective gear, conducted an experiment for the defence using steak knives and a pig's flesh, which most resembles that of humans.

He asked five people to throw knives, weighing 32 grams each, at a section of suspended pig, he said. Out of 22 throws, five hit the target and only one penetrated the skin 13 millimetres.

The knife blade found in the nape of Drummond's neck was 95 millimetres long and was only discovered after a brain scan.

Press Clippings--Part XXIX

2006-04-04T16:50:00.000-04:00

PROCÈS POUR MEURTRE

La Couronne met en pièces la théorie du couteau volant

Christiane Desjardins

La Presse, 04 avril 2006

Au procès de Martin Morin-Cousineau, la procureure de la Couronne Hélène Di Salvo s'est employée hier à mettre en pièces l'audacieuse théorie de la défense, voulant qu'un couteau volant se soit malencontreusement fiché dans le cou de la conjointe de l'accusé, causant ultimement sa mort.

Kelly-Ann Drummond, 24 ans, est morte parce qu'une lame de couteau de 9,5 cm a complètement pénétré dans sa nuque. Elle se trouvait seule avec son conjoint (Morin-Cousineau) dans leur logement de Pierrefonds, quand le drame est survenu, le soir du 3 octobre 2004. Accusé du meurtre non prémédité de la jeune femme, Morin-Cousineau, 31 ans, admet qu'il s'est engueulé avec la victime le soir du drame, mais il soutient qu'il ne l'a jamais frappée. Il explique la situation en disant qu'il mangeait devant la télévision dans le salon quand, exaspéré par la querelle, il a lancé par dépit sa fourchette et son couteau dans les airs en disant: That's enough.

Sa conjointe se trouvait dans la cuisine à ce moment. Quelques secondes plus tard, il a entendu un bruit de chute et de verre brisé dans la cuisine. Il a trouvé sa conjointe dans une mare de sang, près de la cuisinière dont la vitre du four avait éclaté. Il a appelé le 9-1-1. On devait découvrir que la lame du couteau à steak qu'utilisait Morin-Cousineau, s'était fichée complètement dans la nuque de la victime. Le manche du couteau, lui, se trouvait sur le comptoir. La jeune femme est morte deux jours plus tard à l'hôpital.

Me Sacha Blais, avocat de l'accusé, suggère que le couteau lancé sans but et par dépit s'est fiché dans la nuque de la victime qui, en tombant à la renverse, l'a malheureusement enfoncé dans sa nuque.

Pour appuyer l'explication du couteau volant, la défense a demandé à un ingénieur en biomécanique, Benoît Anctil, de faire des tests pour démontrer qu'un couteau lancé à une certaine vitesse peut pénétrer dans la chair. Anctil s'est servi d'un dos de porc pour personnifier la cible, puisque, a-t-il expliqué, le porc est l'animal qui se rapproche le plus de l'humain en ce qui concerne les caractéristiques physiques. Selon ses expérimentations, un couteau doit voler à 8,2 mètres par seconde pour pénétrer la chair de 13 mm, et y rester fiché. À une vitesse plus basse, le couteau rebondit sur la cible.

En contre-interrogatoire, Me Di Salvo a fait admettre au témoin expert que lors des tests, bien des lancers du couteau se sont soldés par des échecs, parce que le couteau partait dans tous les sens au lieu de se diriger vers la cible. Le témoin ne pouvait pas dire combien d'essais il avait fallu pour tirer ses conclusions. Son rôle se limitait à délimiter une vitesse pour la course du couteau.

Le procès devant jury, présidé par le juge Claude Champagne, entre maintenant dans sa phase finale.

Press Clippings--Part XXVIII

2006-04-04T08:47:00.000-04:00

Knife-throwing tests contradict testimony: Insufficient force; It must have slipped, murder trial told

By: Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 4, 2006

It took several throws before a steak knife with a blade similar to the one found in Kelly-Anne Drummond's head penetrated and remained in flesh, Martin Morin-Cousineau's second-degree murder trial heard yesterday.

Benoit Anctil, a mechanical engineer who works for a company that designs protective gear, conducted an experiment for the defence using steak knives and a pig's flesh, which most resembles that of humans.

He asked five people to throw knives, weighing 32 grams each, at a section of suspended pig, he said. Out of 22 throws, five hit the target and only one penetrated the skin 13 millimetres.

The knife blade found in the nape of Drummond's neck was 95 millimetres long and was only discovered after a brain scan."

It would take a higher speed to achieve this kind of penetration,"Anctil said.The defence contends that on the night of Oct. 3, 2004, Morin-Cousineau threw up his arms in frustration during an argument with his girlfriend of 18 months while he was eating.

The 31-year-old testified he then heard a thump and glass shattering in the kitchen where, he said, Drummond was eating at the counter.

He found the 24-year-old lying face-up in a pool of blood. The knife handle, he testified, was on the floor near her head. Drummond died two days later when life-support was removed.

Anctil's subjects were to recreate Morin-Cousineau's movements that night. They threw up their arms, tossing the knife sideways with their left hand, while looking at the pork target.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Helene Di Salvo, Anctil said he didn't test for the angle of entry or what would happen if the knife rotated during its flight. He also didn't test whether the knife would fall out once it penetrated its target.

Defence lawyer Sasha Blais asked if Drummond's thick, curly hair could prevent the knife from falling. Anctil said it could, although he didn't test that because there is no hair on a pig.

Both the Crown and defence will give closing arguments tomorrow. Superior Court Justice Claude Champagne will give instructions to the jury Thursday, after which the five women and seven men will be sequestered to begin deliberations.

Press Clippings--Part XXVII

2006-04-03T15:07:00.000-04:00

Op-Ed about Kelly-Anne's death

Fear still a factor
The Suburban

The last eight days of testimony into the second-degree murder trial of Martin Morin-Cousineau, accused of stabbing to death his live-in girlfriend, Kelly-Anne Drummond, has revealed information all too commonly repeated in domestic violence cases. Women who have had their lives threatened by their partners are just too afraid to leave. Prior to her death, Kelly-Anne had tried to come up with an exit plan but according to the testimony of a friend, was too afraid to aggravate the situation and further anger her boyfriend. Just four days before Kelly-Anne was killed, her father offered to take her back to his house. She refused. And she paid for it with her life.

In spite of being threatened, and although Kelly-Anne was scared, she still did not leave immediately. But if she had, what protection could she have depended on? Her boyfriend had not physically beat her. Who would have protected her had Morin-Cousineau tracked her down?

Could Kelly-Anne’s death been avoided? Of course, if we had a system that better meets the needs of women who live in fear of the men who threaten them. Perhaps Kelly-Anne would be alive today if she had been able to walk away from Morin-Cousineau with the sound knowledge that she would have been protected from him being able to turn his threats into reality.

2006-03-29 08:51:31

Press Clippings--Part XXVI

2006-04-03T14:59:00.000-04:00

Procès Morin-Cousineau
C'est un «accident», dit l'accusé
By Jérôme Dussault

Le Journal de Montreal, March 30, 2006

Martin Morin-Cousineau soutient que sa conjointe s'est elle-même enfoncée un couteau dans le crâne

Ustensiles à la main, Martin Morin-Cousineau mange devant le téléviseur du salon lorsque, dans un excès de colère, il se tourne vers sa conjointe dans la cuisine, échappant sa fourchette juste à côté de lui. Kelly-Anne Drummond s'effondre au même moment, un couteau enfoncé dans le crâne, un «accident» qu'il est toujours incapable d'expliquer.

Voilà la version que l'accusé a offerte aux jurés hier.

Le type de 31 ans témoignait pour sa propre défense au procès qu'il subit pour le meurtre non prémédité de l'éducatrice en garderie, en octobre 2004, dans leur appartement de Pierrefonds.

D'un ton monocorde, sans aucune émotion, même en décrivant l'horreur de la scène, en voyant Kelly-Anne Drummond agoniser dans son sang, l'ancien agent de voyages a juré ne pas l'avoir poignardée.

«Nous n'avons jamais été dans la même pièce», a-t-il dit en guise d'explication, admettant toutefois le climat de tension qui régnait. Parce que leur propriétaire était venu lui réclamer les 30 $ manquants au paiement du loyer et qu'elle le talonnait sans cesse à ce sujet, dit-il.

«Je me souviens que l'adrénaline était à son point culminant.»

Au point où, tenant ses ustensiles, il s'est tourné brusquement en balançant les bras pour lui signifier qu'il en avait assez, selon son récit.

«J'ai entendu quelque chose tomber et une vitre qui éclate. J'étais toujours fâché et je lui ai demandé Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? Elle ne m'a pas répondu.»

Il voit sa fourchette sur le divan avant de la rejoindre dans la cuisine. Dans sa chute, toujours selon ses prétentions, elle a fracassé la vitre dans la porte de la cuisinière. Il aperçoit un manche de couteau à côté de la femme de 24 ans. La lame cassée de 9,4 cm est enfoncée dans son crâne mais il l'ignore à ce moment, affirme-t-il.

Martin Morin-Cousineau va débrancher Internet, il lave ses mains tachées de sang et appelle ensuite le 9-1-1. Il dit à la préposée que son amie de coeur est morte, espérant ainsi accélérer l'intervention des secours.

Au moment du drame, il faisait vie commune avec Kelly-Anne depuis seulement trois mois mais leur relation s'était gâtée rapidement, devenant «très intense». La rupture était envisagée, a-t-il admis.

L'argent était très souvent un sujet de discorde et il avait contracté une dette envers elle.

Press Clippings--Part XXV

2006-04-03T08:52:00.000-04:00

"You didn't help, accused told: Bleeding girlfriend lay on kitchen floor"
By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, April 1, 2006

Martin Morin-Cousineau told the jury at his murder trial yesterday that his biggest concern on Oct. 3, 2004, was to help his girlfriend, who lay bleeding on the kitchen floor of their Pierrefonds apartment.

Yet, crown prosecutor Helene Di Salvo pointed out, he neglected to give paramedics arriving at the apartment some key information.

"She's on the floor, she's bleeding, there's a huge hole in the back of her head, there's a broken knife and you didn't think to say to the paramedics, 'Listen, this could help you'? ... Did you ever tell them you found a broken knife on the floor under her head?" she asked the accused.

"I don't remember saying that," replied Morin-Cousineau, 31, who is charged with second-degree murder.

The Quebec Superior Court trial has already heard that Drummond, 24, had been "nagging" Morin-Cousineau about $30 owed to their landlord. As he sat eating on the couch, Morin-Cousineau shouted "Enough!" at Drummond, who was in the kitchen. At the same time, his hands flew up and his fork ended up beside him.

He then heard a thump, and glass breaking. He ran to the kitchen to find Drummond lying face-up in a pool of blood. When he moved her, he found a knife handle under her head, he said.

But a photo taken by paramedics at the scene showed the knife handle on the counter.

A brain scan of Drummond showed a 9.5-centimetre knife blade lodged in the back of her neck. She died on Oct. 5, after life support was removed.

Defence lawyer Sasha Blais called an expert witness yesterday to testify about tests done with steak knives similar to the one Morin-Cousineau was using Oct. 3.

Benoit Anctil, who works for an Ottawa company that designs bulletproof vests, helmets and other protective gear, said he had people use the same hand motion demonstrated by Morin-Cousineau when he shouted "Enough!" to throw a knife at a piece of a pig's back, located about five metres away.

He then measured how far the blade penetrated the meat. The animal's skin, he said, most closely resembles that of a human.

Anctil did not say what his tests revealed.

His testimony is to continue Monday.

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

2006-04-01T00:54:00.000-05:00

This picture is so classically Kelly-Anne: full of happiness and adventure.

Press Clippings--Part XXIV

2006-04-01T00:42:00.000-05:00

'She didn't stab her own self': Murder defendant cross-examined. Boyfriend of dead woman struggles to explain what happened on fatal night

By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, March 30, 2006

During five hours of questioning by police, Martin Morin-Cousineau was unable to explain how a knife blade ended up in the back of Kelly-Anne Drummond's head, his murder trial heard yesterday.

"Marty, she didn't stab her own self in the back of the head," crown prosecutor Helene Di Salvo read from a transcript of the police interrogation.

Then she read Morin-Cousineau's reply: "I know that, that she didn't stab herself. ... The knife must have flipped over or something. ... I don't freaking know, man."

Morin-Cousineau, 31, is accused of second-degree murder.

Drummond, 24, died Oct. 5, 2004, two days after she had been found lying on the kitchen floor of the Pierrefonds apartment she shared with the accused. A 9.5-centimetre blade was lodged in the base of her neck.

Morin-Cousineau said he was eating in the living room on Oct. 3 while Drummond ate her dinner standing at the kitchen counter.

They were arguing about $30 Morin-Cousineau owed the landlord. "She was questioning you about the $30. Why?" Di Salvo asked yesterday.

"You'll have to ask her that," the accused replied, as people in the packed courtroom gasped."

She can't answer," Di Salvo said.Morin-Cousineau said he grew tired of the "nagging" that night and shouted, "Enough!" throwing his hands in the air. His fork fell on the couch, but he doesn't know where his knife landed.

During his videotaped statement to police, Morin-Cousineau threw his arms to the side, palms facing in, 23 times in demonstrating what he did when he said "Enough." Yet in the courtroom, he made a gesture with his left hand - the hand that held the knife - where the hand flipped out and upward.

In his call to 911 that night, the defendant described what happened. "We got in a little bit of a fight," a breathless Morin-Cousineau said. "I went - I got mad. I got mad. I went to throw - she got scared. She sort of slipped, fell into the stove."

Asked by Di Salvo if he saw her trip, Morin-Cousineau replied: "No."

Press Clippings--Part XXIII

2006-03-30T08:21:00.000-05:00

Woman 'nagged' before dying: Murder trial; Girlfriend's death 'accident': accused

By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, March 30, 2006

Hours before Kelly-Anne Drummond was found in a pool of blood in her kitchen, she'd been "nagging" her live-in boyfriend, Martin Morin-Cousineau, about $30 he owed their landlord, the 31-year-old told his second-degree-murder trial yesterday.

"There was verbal jousting going on," said Morin-Cousineau, who took the stand yesterday for the first time at the Superior Court hearing. "She's asking about the $30 and I'm telling her to drop it, to let it go."

The two were in their Pierrefonds apartment on Oct. 3, 2004, just days after Drummond, 24, returned from a lifeguarding competition in Italy. Their relationship was tense, Morin-Cousineau said, and they were trying to decide if one of them would leave, or they'd work things out.

Yesterday, Morin-Cousineau denied he'd threatened to kill Drummond if she went to Italy, as an earlier witness testified. But the accused, a former travel agent, said he had threatened on several occasions to cancel her plane ticket.

"It was a way of getting out of discussions," he said.

When Drummond wouldn't let up on the $30, Morin-Cousineau said, he threw an empty 7UP bottle from the living room into the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner. Morin-Cousineau helped himself to a plate of food, a fork and a steak knife, then returned to the living room.

"But she keeps asking and I'm getting upset," he told the five-woman, seven-man jury. "At one point, I just had enough and the adrenaline was pumping."

Morin-Cousineau said he raised an empty mug as if he was going to throw it at her, but didn't.

"I turned toward her to yell at her, 'That's enough! For $30, this is so retarded!'

"I said F--k! Enough! I was fairly tense, the adrenaline had been pumping. I was mad, I guess, very tense."

He threw his arms up, then noticed his fork beside him on the couch. At that moment, he said, he heard noise "of something falling and glass shattering."

"I was aggravated and asked: 'What the hell are you doing?' not necessarily in those words.

"I didn't get an answer, so I ran to the kitchen."

There, he said, Drummond was lying face up, her head in a pool of blood and glass.

"I freaked," the accused told the packed courtroom. "It looked like somebody had turned on a faucet.

"I put my hand underneath her neck and felt a hole, and that's when I really panicked."

A brain scan later revealed a 9.5-centimetre blade lodged in the base of her neck.

Later in his testimony, Morin-Cousineau said he had forgotten to mention that as he held Drummond's head, he noticed a knife handle next to it.

Showing no emotion, Morin-Cousineau explained how he called 911 and told them Drummond was dead. He also "vaguely remembers" performing artificial respiration on her.

When asked by defence lawyer Nellie Benoit if he stabbed Drummond, Morin-Cousineau replied, "No. We were never in the same room.

"It was an accident."

Cross-examination is to continue today.

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com

Press Clippings--Part XXII

2006-03-29T18:38:00.000-05:00

“Drummond sought to break up with boyfriend; Defendant was ‘abusive,’ murder trial told “

By Marc Lalonde

The Chronicle, March 29, 2006

In the days before her death, Kelly-Anne Drummond’s father asked her repeatedly to come back to the family’s home rather than return to a place he felt she was unhappy with her live-in boyfriend.

John Drummond testified yesterday in the second-degree murder trial of her boyfriend, Martin Morin-Cousineau.

“I gave her a kiss and a hug and asked her if she wanted to come home. She said ‘no,’ and said she wanted to stay in the apartment,” Drummond told the seven-man, five-woman jury at the Palais de Justice in Old Montreal yesterday.

Drummond continued, saying he frequently witnessed tension between Morin-Cousineau, 31, and his daughter at family functions.

“I saw tension all the time. If, for any reason, Kelly-Anne would be away from Marty (Morin-Cousineau), like outside exercising or barbecuing, he would be in the rec room, watching TV with the lights off,” he said, adding to testimony that Morin-Cousineau was moody, aloof and threatening with Drummond.

The night Drummond picked his daughter up at the airport after a trip to Italy, he remarked that when the pair dropped Kelly-Anne’s luggage off at the couple’s Pierrefonds Boulevard apartment, Morin-Cousineau lay, unmoving, watching television on the couch in the living room.

“He said ‘hello,’ and that was it. He didn’t say anything else and didn’t get up,” Drummond testified.

Defence attorney Nellie Benoit got Drummond to admit he had never seen any physical violence or loud arguments between the couple, however.

Drummond’s former boss testified that Drummond had confided in her about the stress of living with Morin-Cousineau because she wanted out of the relationship, but couldn’t leave because the apartment’s lease was in her name.

“She told me that her boyfriend was abusive and that he told her she was ugly all the time, but that she couldn’t leave him because the apartment was in her name and that’s why it was difficult for her to break up with him,” testified Marie-Claire Martin, who owned the Kirkland day care where Drummond was employed in the two years prior to her death. “I offered to lend her three months rent so she could get out of her lease. She thanked me, but didn’t take my offer,” Martin said.

Three days before her death and after her return from a lifeguarding competition in Italy, Martin testified that Drummond seemed “sad and anxious,” at work.

“I asked her what was wrong and she told me that, regarding her boyfriend, everything would be settled that weekend. She said ‘it either works or it doesn’t.’ I had no further discussion with her after that,” she said.

The owner of Les Trésors de Marie-Claire had been set to lay Drummond off earlier, but changed her mind when Drummond said she would change age-group supervision.

“We had too many people working with the three-year-olds, so I told her I had to let her go, but she asked me if she could stay and work with another age group because she was having a terrible time at home with her boyfriend and had responsibilities she had to take care of,” Martin said.

Paramedics were called to the couple’s apartment on Oct. 3, 2004. Drummond, a popular athlete and lifeguard, died from her injuries in hospital the next day. Morin-Cousineau told police Drummond fell.

The trial continues today, when the defence is expected to begin its case.

Press Clippings--Part XXI

2006-03-29T18:36:00.000-05:00

“Witness provides gory details at trial”

By Marc Lalonde

The Chronicle, March 22, 2006

Kelly-Anne Drummond’s death was so gory it prompted one of the paramedics who responded to the call to snap photos of the scene because she had lost so much blood, the jury heard yesterday in the second-degree murder trial of her live-in boyfriend Martin Morin-Cousineau.

“It is unusual that I take photos of a scene, but the amount of blood loss didn’t seem appropriate for someone who had merely fallen, and the patient went into cardiac arrest, probably from the blood loss,” said Urgences Santé paramedic Barnet Wexler.

Wexler testified that when he and his partner — the second ambulance on the scene — arrived, Drummond already had no pulse. When the paramedics brought her down the rear stairs out the back door of the Pierrefonds Boulevard building, he began CPR. Wexler said when he heard someone had fallen, the amount of blood seemed excessive for the situation.

“The amount of blood lost was more that I expected when I heard she fell,” said the veteran of 20 years and “thousands,” of incidents involving blood loss. “The blood was coagulating already. If the incident had just happened, that (coagulation) wouldn’t be happening,” he said.

Prosecutor Helène Di Salvo asked Wexler to describe the blood on the floor after Drummond had been transported to hospital.

“It was a large pool around where her head was, about a metre around her head, and about a foot of that on the edges of the pool had already started to coagulate,” he said.

Defence attorneys Nellie Benoit and Sacha Blais did their best to trip Wexler up, noting he made no mention of coagulating blood in either of the two reports he filed that night, but Wexler pointed out that since he had the photos listed on the report, there was not much use to repeat what would be entered as visual evidence.

On Monday, the seven-man, five-woman jury heard that doctors removed a 9.5-centimetre blade from the base of Drummond’s skull and that Drummond, 24, was planning on leaving Morin-Cousineau, 31, because she felt threatened by him.

When the incident occurred in October 2004, police said Morin-Cousineau, who was the only other person in the apartment that night, told them Drummond had fallen in the kitchen while he sat in a chair in the living room.

Morin-Cousineau has been in custody since his arrest.

A popular local fixture on the rugby and lifeguarding scenes at John Abbott College and Concordia University, Drummond’s death drew a packed house at her funeral.

Before proceedings began yesterday morning, Drummond’s mother, Doreen Haddad Drummond could be seen staring holes in Morin-Cousineau as he sat blankly in the prisoner’s box, sporting shoulder-length hair and a dark yellow shirt under a dark grey jacket, unmoving except to take occasional notes. The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, will continue tomorrow at the Palais de Justice in Old Montreal.

Press Clippings--Part XX

2006-03-29T09:20:00.000-05:00

'I want to take you back home'
father: Daughter died a week later, murder trial hears
By Sue Montgomery

The Gazette, March 29, 2006

John Drummond offered to take his daughter home after her boyfriend, Martin Morin-Cousineau, didn't bother greeting her when she arrived at their apartment after a trip to Italy, Morin-Cousineau's murder trial was told yesterday.

"I whispered in her ear, 'I want to take you back home. Do you want to go?' " Drummond told a Quebec Superior Court jury.

"She said no, so I said, 'If you feel you have to go, call me and I'll be here as quick as I can.' She said, 'No, Dad, I'll be fine.' "

Less than a week later, on Oct. 3, 2004, Kelly-Anne Drummond, 24, was found in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor of the Pierrefonds apartment she shared with Morin-Cousineau, 31. A 9.5-centimetre knife blade was lodged in the base of her neck. She died two days later.

Morin-Cousineau is charged with second-degree murder. The trial has already been told Morin-Cousineau didn't want Drummond to take the trip.

John Drummond said yesterday the accused just lay on the couch watching TV when his girlfriend came through the door.

"He said hello but didn't look up at us," Drummond said.

Defence lawyer Nellie Benoit asked Drummond if he'd witnessed any violence between the couple. "No physical violence, no," he replied.

Crown prosecutor Helene Di Salvo, who finished presenting her evidence yesterday, asked Drummond to elaborate.

"Throughout the time Morin-Cousineau was in my house, I'd frequently witnessed tension between them," he said. Drummond said he'd never seen the couple have a verbal argument.

Before Kelly-Anne took the trip to Italy to participate in an international lifeguarding competition, she told Marie-Claire Martin, her boss at the daycare where she worked, that her boyfriend was very abusive and wouldn't leave the apartment she had rented.

"I said we'd help her and give her an advance of three months rent," Martin testified. "She thanked me but didn't accept."

Once Drummond returned from Italy, Martin said, she seemed sad and anxious. The last time Martin saw her was on Friday, Oct. 1, 2004.

"She said, 'This weekend, everything will be decided if it works or it doesn't.' "

The defence is to begin its case today.

smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com