‘I JUST WANT A KISS’
Linnea Veinotte’s husband writes her a letter as man charged with murder in her death
On Saturday, Matt Veinotte started to write. His wife, Linnea, was no longer missing. Her body had been found less than 24 hours before, in a shallow grave in a wooded area near a rutted road in the south end of Grenada.
The discovery ended an anguished six- day search in an island paradise for the 36- year- old Canadian professor. Veinotte had gone for a run on a Sunday morning with the family dog, Nico. She never returned.
A man, Akim Frank, was in police custody — and was later charged with murder in her death — while Matt Veinotte was now a widower; a single father with two sons: Lucas, 6, and Isaac, 5. Veinotte had loved Linnea, or “Linn,” for 21 years. They were high school sweethearts. They met in Lunenburg, N.S.
And so, on Saturday, he began to write, posting a message to a Facebook page dedicated to his wife’s memory. Veinotte thanked Grenadian police, friends and the extended network of volunteer searchers who supported his family throughout their ordeal. He described Grenada as the best place in the world to live and “raise a young family.” Then he addressed Linnea. “It does not seem real,” he wrote. “I am waiting and hoping that I’ ll wake up ... I’m hurt ... lost ... angry ... empty ... and lonely ...
“The love you have for Lucas and Isaac will never fade. It’s my promise to you — and it’s my commitment to them. It is extremely painful right now because every time I look at them, I see you.
“Your beautiful smile, the sparkle in your eyes, the kindness in your heart, the gentleness of your touch and the confidence in everything you do. I just want a kiss ... to hold you and the boys ... to tell you that everything is going to be all right. “But I don’t know how.” Akim Frank appeared in a Grenadian courtroom Monday at 9 a. m. where he was charged with “non- capital murder.”
“Murder charges are divided into two categories in Grenada,” Sylvan McIntyre, an assistant- superintendent with the Royal Grenada Police Force, said in an interview Monday.
“Capital murder charges would relate to a state official, for instance a police office, or somebody connected to the judiciary being killed.
“Non- capital murder refers to any other person who may have been put to death intentionally by another per- son. If it is accidental, a person can be charged for noncapital murder, for instance — a murder that has been caused by a vehicle.”
Residents of Lance Aux Epines, the posh enclave where Veinotte was jogging when she disappeared, said they heard screeching tires and a loud thump at about 8 a.m. on Dec. 6. Nico, the dog, was found bleeding at the scene. ( Nico later had emergency surgery and is recovering well).
A dark- coloured Suzukibrand SUV was reported speeding away f rom the area. Veinotte was gone. An autopsy performed Saturday concluded she died from “blunt force trauma to the chest and lower limbs.” Police would not disclose the actual time of death, but said her body will be released to her family in the coming days.
“Obviously, the family (is) still very distraught,” McIntyre said. “The uncertainty has been alleviated — they know Linnea is dead — and they are now putting the bits and pieces together, trying to deal with that reality.”
The maximum penalty in non- capital murder cases is life imprisonment.
Frank turned himself into police just after midnight Friday and helped investigators to find Veinotte’s body. He has worked as a municipal bus conductor in St. George’s, the nation’s capital, but has a complicated, violent past, and was sent to prison for several months as an 18- year- old for burglary and — as reported in a 2008 web edition of Grenada Today — “the offences of causing harm, stealing and wounding.”
He is being held at Her Majesty’s Prison, Richmond Hill. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 19.
Matt Veinotte is facing Christmas without his wife. Linnea’s memorial page features a photograph of the high school sweethearts, all grown up now, each with a child in their arms.
“I have had the honour over the last 21 years to call Linnea my girlfriend, my fiancée, my wife, the mother of my children and best of all, my best friend,” Veinotte wrote, in his message.
“Goodnight Sweetheart, Sweet Dreams, Love You and Remember.”
OBVIOUSLY THE FAMILY (IS) STILL VERY DISTRAUGHT