01 January 2008

Mi'kmaq Activist Murdered by Grandson

It has been revealed that the woman who led the charge for justice for native people who were abused in residential schools across Canada was murdered by her own grandson. The full story, posted on the Chronicle-Herald website (there is no paper publication today), can be found here.

Police say Mi'kmaq activist Nora Madeline Bernard died last week of blunt force trauma to her face and stab wounds to her upper body, and have charged her grandson with first-degree murder.
James Douglas Gloade, 24, of Millbrook was crying as sheriff's deputies led him into a Truro provincial courtroom for arraignment Monday morning.
Mr. Gloade stared at the floor, occasionally rubbing his bloodshot eyes and face with his hands during the court appearance that lasted two minutes. He didn't speak or enter a plea and will remain in custody until his next court date Jan. 7.
The 72-year-old Ms. Bernard is best known for leading a successful fight for justice and compensation for Indian residential school survivors like herself from across Canada.
Police say her 32-year-old son found her body on the kitchen floor of her Willow Street home in Truro shortly before 3 a.m. last Thursday. He lived with his mother and had returned home after visiting friends.
Truro Police Chief David MacNeil said Ms. Bernard sustained severe trauma and was stabbed with what investigators believe was a knife to the front of her body, around the neck, but he said little else about her injuries.

------

Every year in Canada, an average of 74 women are killed by their spouses. There are no figures readily available on the overall number of women murdered by men, but there is a grassroots effort being undertaken to catalogue the names of women who are killed. It is called The Femicide List.

No comments: