Missing Halifax woman's car found in Ontario

[spaminator]

Missing Halifax woman's car found in Ontario
QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 12:43 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 06:17 PM EST
Two people have been arrested after an Inuk woman who studies missing and murdered aboriginal women disappeared from her Halifax home under suspicious circumstances.
A 25-year-old-man and 28-year-old woman were arrested in Harrow, Ont., just outside of Windsor, driving a stolen car belonging to Loretta Saunders, 26, who has been missing since Valentine's Day.
Const. Pierre Bourdages said the two people arrested knew Saunders and were most recently living in Halifax. They face charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and outstanding warrants.
Police are now treating Saunders' disappearance as suspicious, and so is her family.
"She is a proud Inuk whose thesis topic is on missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada, so she knows better than to just disappear like this," her sister, Delilah Terriak, said on Facebook.
Saunders was last seen Feb. 13 at her apartment in Halifax, Bourdages said. She had some online contact with friends and family on Feb. 14 but hasn't been in touch since.
Her brother, Edmund, told CTV she sent a text message to her boyfriend of 2 1/2 years that she'd been locked out of her online banking and didn't remember her mother's maiden name. "I really find that hard to believe."
Terriak is asking people to help find her sister using the hashtag #findloretta.
Saunders is five-foot-seven, with light brown hair. There are media reports she is three months pregnant, but QMI Agency has not confirmed this.
Her car is a blue 2000 Toyota Celica with Newfoundland and Labrador plates.
"I'm glad my sister has been the prime example of strength and endurance in my life or I wouldn't be able to do this," Terriak wrote.
Loretta Saunders. (Halifax Regional Police/HO)

Missing Halifax woman's car found in Ontario | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Two suspects in missing woman case returning to Nova Scotia
QMI AGENCY
First posted: Thursday, February 20, 2014 04:03 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, February 20, 2014 04:20 PM EST
Police have obtained a warrant to return two suspects to Nova Scotia to be charged after they were found in Ontario, allegedly with the car of missing woman Loretta Saunders.
Blake Leggette, 25, and 28-year-old Victoria Henneberry were arrested on Wednesday in Harrow, Ont., near Windsor, on outstanding warrants, possessing stolen property and fraud-related charges.
Also on Wednesday, police started to search Saunders's Halifax apartment for any information about what happened to her.
Saunders hasn't been since Feb. 13 and hasn't had contact with her family since Feb. 14, police said.
Saunders, reportedly three months pregnant, has been writing a thesis on missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Her family and friends have taken to social media to aid in their search with the hashtag #findloretta and a Facebook group, and are crowdfunding money to get family from Newfoundland and Labrador to Halifax.
Const. Pierre Bourdages, with Halifax Regional Police, said Saunders knows Leggette and Henneberry.
Loretta Saunders, 26, was last seen outside her Halifax apartment building on Feb. 13. Her car was found in Harrow, Ont., near Windsor, and two people were arrested. HANDOUT PHOTO/QMI AGENCY

Two suspects in missing woman case returning to Nova Scotia | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[shadowshiv]

I have a feeling that they murdered her to try and access her financials (either that, or she caught them trying to access her bank accounts). Not remembering her mother's maiden name? Sounds like one of the two were trying to gain access to her money and couldn't get around the security question.

 

[spaminator]

Sister of missing Halifax woman pleads for help, information
By Nicole Riva ,QMI Agency
First posted: Friday, February 21, 2014 12:09 PM EST | Updated: Friday, February 21, 2014 01:20 PM EST
The sister of a missing Halifax student pleaded for help during a press conference Friday morning.
Delilah Terriak, whose sister Loretta Saunders, 26, has been missing since Feb. 13, told reporters she's able to keep going because she knows Saunders is strong.
"Knowing that she's so tough, her ability to persevere is unmatched," Terriak said.
Saunders, who is reportedly three months pregnant, is normally in daily contact with her family, but has been out of touch since Feb. 14.
Her car was found near Windsor, Ont., and two people were arrested.
Police have said the two people charged, Blake Leggette, 25, and Victoria Henneberry, 28, know Saunders, but Terriak said she doesn't know the duo.
Leggette and Henneberry are accused of fraud-related charges, possession of stolen property and failure to appear in court.
Terriak pleaded for anyone who may have seen Saunders' blue Toyota Celica to come forward and also asked for assistance in the search. The family has been crowdfunding donations to assist with search costs and to bring family from Newfoundland and Labrador to Halifax.
"My family is having a difficult time processing what's going on and having a hard time finding answers," Terriak said in a statement. "We need to be together when we find out what's going on, when we hear some good news."
Saunders is supposed to graduate from St. Mary's University in May, Terriak said. Her thesis is about missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Loretta Saunders. (Halifax Regional Police/HO)

Sister of missing Halifax woman pleads for help, information | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Police seek taxi for clues in missing Halifax woman case
QMI Agency
First posted: Saturday, February 22, 2014 04:42 PM EST | Updated: Saturday, February 22, 2014 10:43 PM EST
Police in Halifax hope a taxi may provide some clue in the case of missing student Loretta Saunders.
Saunders, 26, hasn't been seen since Feb. 13, and has not been heard from since Feb. 14, though she usually has daily contact with her family.
Her car was found last week near Windsor, Ont., and two people were arrested.
Police have said the two people charged, Blake Leggette, 25, and Victoria Henneberry, 28, know Saunders, but wouldn't confirm reports the two were renting an apartment from her. Leggette and Henneberry are accused of fraud-related offences, possession of stolen property and failure to appear in court.
The fraud charges are for allegedly using Saunders' debit card after she went missing, Const. Pierre Bourdages said.
Saunders, who is reportedly three months pregnant, is writing her thesis at St. Mary's University about missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Her friends and family have been active on social media, in hopes of finding information, and have been crowdfunding donation to assist with search costs and to bring family from Newfoundland and Labrador to Halifax.
On Saturday, police put out a statement asking for any information about a taxi that was parked at the front entrance of Saunders' apartment building around 2:30 p.m. on the last day she was seen, Feb. 13, in the hopes someone in the vehicle might have witnessed something that could help the investigation.
Later Saturday night police announced they had identified the driver of the cab. No name was given.
Loretta Saunders. (Halifax Regional Police/HO)

Police seek taxi for clues in missing Halifax woman case | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[JLM]

Missing Halifax woman's car found in Ontario
QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 12:43 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 06:17 PM EST
Two people have been arrested after an Inuk woman who studies missing and murdered aboriginal women disappeared from her Halifax home under suspicious circumstances.
Missing Halifax woman's car found in Ontario | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

I hate to think it, but I don't have a good feeling about that case. Sad.

 

[Nuggler]

I hate to think it, but I don't have a good feeling about that case. Sad.

you just ain't whistling Dixie.


Maybe after the snow goes away...............and That's a bad feeling.

 

[JLM]

you just ain't whistling Dixie.


Maybe after the snow goes away...............and That's a bad feeling.

Sadly I have to agree!

 

[spaminator]

Missing Halifax woman's disappearance now murder investigation
By Nicole Riva ,QMI Agency
First posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 03:58 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 05:31 PM EST
The body of a missing Halifax woman has been found on a highway median in New Brunswick.
Police located Loretta Saunders's body around 4:30 p.m. AT west of Salisbury, N.B., off of Route 2 of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Halifax police and New Brunswick RCMP closed one lane of the highway to retrieve the body.
Earlier Wednesday, police announced Saunders's disappearance was a murder investigation.
"Investigators have identified suspects in this homicide and they are not looking for anyone else," Const. Pierre Bourdages said.
He also said "charges are anticipated against suspects" and would be laid as soon as possible.
"There's been tremendous support by family and friends here ... and we're trying to locate the body of Ms. Saunders so the family can bring her home," Bourdages said before the body was found.
Saunders, 26, went missing Feb. 13 from Halifax and her car was found Feb. 18 in Harrow, Ont., near Windsor, Ont.
Two people were arrested when Saunders' car was found.
Blake Leggette, 25, and Victoria Henneberry, 28, are in custody in Halifax and accused of theft of a motor vehicle, police said.
They had been facing fraud charges in Ontario for allegedly using Saunders' debit card, but those charges were dropped.
Saunders was reportedly pregnant and working on a thesis about missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Saunders' sister, Delilah Terriak, seemed to foreshadow Wednesday's announcement with a post on her Facebook page on Tuesday.
"You all need to turn your heads from these screens and tell your family and friends how much they mean to you because you never know what could happen to those who you figure will always be there," Terriak wrote.
Loretta Saunders, 26, was last seen outside her Halifax apartment building on Feb. 13. Her car was found in Harrow, Ont., near Windsor, and two people were arrested. (Handout photo/QMI Agency)

Missing Halifax woman's disappearance now murder investigation | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

Couple charged with murdering Loretta Saunders
By Nicole Riva ,QMI Agency
First posted: Thursday, February 27, 2014 03:25 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, February 27, 2014 05:04 PM EST
The duo found with Loretta Saunders' car has been charged with her murder, Halifax police say.
Victoria Henneberry, 28, and Blake Leggette, 25, are both accused of first-degree murder, police announced Thursday.
Saunders was last seen Feb. 13 and her body was found Wednesday in a median off the Trans-Canada Highway near Salisbury, N.B.
The couple were Saunders' roommates at a Halifax apartment, RCMP Insp. Trish MacCormack said.
"Our investigators believe she was killed in her apartment in Halifax on Feb. 13," MacCormack said. "We're aware of the motive, but it's not information we can share because it's before the court."
Saunders' body was discovered because of "a combination of factors" arising from the police investigation, she said.
RCMP and Halifax Regional Police don't expect more charges to be laid, MacCormack said.
Saunders' murder is an all-too-familiar pattern for indigenous women, her thesis adviser said.
"Loretta is dumped in a ditch like road kill in a province that once paid European invaders for the scalps of Mi'kmaq women, children and men," Darryl Leroux, assistant professor at Saint Mary's University, wrote Thursday on the website Halifax Media Co-op.
"Our society has discarded indigenous women and girls in much the same manner for generations."
Saunders, 26, an Inuk woman originally from Labrador, was writing her thesis on missing and murdered aboriginal women. She was reportedly three months pregnant.
Saunders' sister Delilah Terriak posted on her Facebook page late Wednesday: "I didn't lose my heart and soul in vain, I will continue to fight for our stolen sisters."
Henneberry and Leggette are scheduled to appear in court Friday. They're also charged with theft of a motor vehicle.
Fraud charges in Ontario for allegedly using Saunders' debit card were dropped.
Loretta Saunders, 26, was last seen outside her Halifax apartment building on Feb. 13. Her car was found in Harrow, Ont., near Windsor, and two people were arrested. (Handout photo/QMI Agency)

Couple charged with murdering Loretta Saunders | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Preliminary hearing begins in Loretta Saunders murder case
By Kris Sims ,Atlantic Bureau
First posted: Monday, July 21, 2014 11:17 AM EDT | Updated: Monday, July 21, 2014 06:13 PM EDT
HALIFAX -- A preliminary hearing got underway Monday for two people accused of killing Loretta Saunders, a young Inuk woman who was writing a thesis on missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Blake Leggette, 26, and Victoria Henneberry, 28, are both charged with first-degree murder.
Saunders, 26, disappeared from her Halifax home on Feb. 13. Her body was found in a ditch along the Trans-Canada Highway near Salisbury, N.B., on Feb. 26. She was three months pregnant.
Leggette and Henneberry were subletting an apartment from Saunders, who was a student at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Police allege the pair killed Saunders at her apartment, stuffed her body in a hockey bag and took off.
Saunders' car was found in Harrow, Ont., near Windsor, on Feb. 18. Leggette and Henneberry were arrested when the car was found.
More than a dozen members of the Saunders family travelled from Labrador to attend the Halifax hearing. Many sobbed while evidence was being presented. Three ran weeping from the courtroom.
Outside of the courthouse, Loretta's brother Edmund yelled, "Coward!" as Leggette was led from the sheriff's truck.
He told reporters his family "has been destroyed" by his sister's death.
"Every day I wake up with the echoes of my mother's wailing, her grief when she heard my sister and her unborn baby were dead," Edmund said before the hearing started. "My parents have been robbed of a daughter and a granddaughter. They were looking forward to the sheer joy of a baby and now they are left with this."
The hearing, which will determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial, is scheduled to last four days.
Preliminary hearing begins in Loretta Saunders murder case | Canada | News | Tor

New site documents lives of missing, murdered aboriginal women
QMI Agency
First posted: Monday, July 21, 2014 02:47 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, July 21, 2014 03:02 PM EDT
Tired of having their calls for a national inquiry fall on deaf ears, three aboriginal organizations have come together to launch a community-led database to document the lives and deaths of missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada.
No More Silence, Families of Sisters in Spirit and the Native Youth Sexual Health Network say the website will also provide family and friends a space to memorialize their loved ones and celebrate their lives.
Called It Starts With Us, the site was launched on the anniversary of the unsolved death of Bella Laboucan-McLean, 25.
“This new website and database gives families like ours the ability to not only document the lives of our loved ones but also commemorate and celebrate their lives and achievements,” Laboucan-McLean’s sister, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, said.
The young Cree woman fell 31 stories from a highrise condo in downtown Toronto. Police deemed her death suspicious.
“We know there are many other stories, families and anniversaries, this is just the beginning,” Krysta Williams of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network said in a press release. “We continue to build capacity within our networks to respond and support.”
An RCMP report released earlier this year found 1,181 homicides and unresolved missing person cases involving aboriginal women between 1980 and 2012.
Amnesty International estimates Native women are five to seven times more likely than other women to die of violence in Canada.
Bella Laboucan-McLean, 25, a Cree woman who fell to her death July 20, 2013, in Toronto. Her death was listed as suspicious and remains unsolved. Laboucan-McLean's life and death are documented on the new community-led datatbase It Starts With Us.

New site documents lives of missing, murdered aboriginal women | Canada | News |