Missing and Murdered Women: Claudette Osborne

Wednesday, April 7

No charges, no victim services: Manitoba Justice

Last Updated: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 | 5:42 PM CT

CBC News

Families of women declared murdered and missing in Manitoba are angry over the provincial government's refusal to pay for counselling or other advocacy programming for them unless their cases result in charges being laid.
Bernadette Smith's sister, Claudette Osborne, has been missing and her disappearance the subject of an ongoing police investigation since July 2008.
In that time, Smith said she's had no choice but to lean on family and friends for support.

'They should help [families] through … from the beginning to the end, not just the end.'—Jessica Houle

Manitoba Justice's Victims Services department has rebuffed her requests for help dealing with Claudette's disappearnce, she said on Wednesday.
Smith suggested that provincial justice officials admit Claudette has been the victim of a crime, but won't offer help.
"'There's been a crime committed, we know it,'" she said she was told, "'but we don't have someone charged so we can't offer you any services.'"
Smith said sometimes families need more than just relatives and friends to talk to, but can't afford professional help.
That can lead to other problems, Smith said.
"I see a lot of addictions happening within families because they don't have coping skills," she said.

Cherisse Houle's body was found July 1 in a creek near a section of dirt road just off Highway 221. (Winnipeg Police Service)Jessica Houle, the sister of Cherisse Houle, whose body was found dumped in a creek in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, northwest of Winnipeg on July 1, 2009, agrees.
"They should help [families] through … from the beginning to the end, not just the end," she said.
Police have not publicly said Cherisse's death was a homicide, and no charges have been laid in connection to her death.
Officials with Manitoba Justice would not grant an interview for this story, but confirmed they won't pay for services for victims until a suspect has been charged.
Smith said she is hosting a retreat for 10 families of murdered and missing women in Manitoba this weekend. The event is being paid for with money from private donors, she said.
Last September, the provincial government announced the creation of a police task force to investigate unsolved and historical cases of murdered and missing women.
Police officials have said little about the task force's progress so far.
The task force is staffed with three RCMP officers, two RCMP analysts and four officers from the Winnipeg Police Service.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/04/07/man-families-victims-services-murdered-missing.html#ixzz0kScG83vw

Copyright © CBC 2010

Monday, February 15

Hundreds march for murdered, missing women

Monday, February 15, 2010 | 3:44 PM CT

CBC News

The third annual march for missing and murdered women in Manitoba drew about 400 people on Valentine's Day. (CBC)Hundreds of Winnipeggers took to the streets on Valentine's Day to honour Manitoba's murdered and missing women.

The third annual Women's Memorial March drew about 400 people to the downtown on Sunday.

Many wore a butterfly-shaped sign adorned with the name and picture of one of nearly 200 women murdered or missing in Manitoba since 1947.

Many others carried signs and photographs calling attention to the victims.

'All of the women we are marching for were somebody's loved ones.'— Lisa Michell, Women's Memorial March committee chair

"Valentines Day is a significant day to spend with your loved ones, and so it is actually very appropriate to have it on this day because all of the women we are marching for were somebody's loved ones," said Lisa Michell, chair of the march's local organizing committee.

The march originated in Vancouver 19 years ago and similar events were planned for Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Sudbury, London, Toronto, and Montreal.

Drawing attention to cases

Bernadette Smith's sister Claudette Osborne has been missing for more than eighteen months.

And she says marches like last night's help draw attention to the unsolved cases.

Lisa McFarland, who marched in the Winnipeg event in 2009 on behalf of her missing sister, Amber, helped organize the 2010 event.

Amber Lynn McFarland was last seen early on Oct. 18 at a bar in Portage la Prairie, Man. (RCMP handout)McFarland found comfort and support in the 2009 march, which moved her to become more involved.

"People come out to the march and they care about your issue and they just want to offer their support. There's peace of mind when you have that number," she said.

"It's a good thing for the community and it's nice not only to honour my sister, for me, but for all the women who have been violently murdered or are missing."

Amber McFarland was last seen the night of Oct. 18, 2008, at a bar in her hometown of Portage la Prairie, about 70 kilometres west of Winnipeg. The RCMP are now treating the case as a homicide.

Bernadette Smith, whose sister, Claudette Osborne, has been missing for more than 18 months, said the march keeps that case and others like it in the spotlight.

"If somebody knows something out there, and we know somebody knows something — you just don't go missing or be murdered without somebody knowing something — it's got to be weighing on that person's conscience," she said.

"Get it off your chest, call Crime Stoppers. It's anonymous. Help give some of those families answers."

Claudette Osborne, who also goes by the name Penny, was last seen July 24, 2008, in the area of Selkirk Avenue and Charles Street, in Winnipeg's North End. There has been no trace of her since then.

Wednesday, April 7

No charges, no victim services: Manitoba Justice

Last Updated: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 | 5:42 PM CT

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Monday, February 15

Hundreds march for murdered, missing women

Monday, February 15, 2010 | 3:44 PM CT

CBC News

Drawing attention to cases