Justice still sought for Jeannette
On a sunny Sunday morning, Chris Jugaru brought his infant twins to meet their aunt in Niagara Falls.
He wanted their first meeting to be perfect.
As Norah and Brace slept nearby, Chris carefully removed the weeds that surrounded his sister’s grave at Fairview Cemetery and planted colourful flowers in front of her headstone.
His older sister, Jeannette Jugaru, was murdered July 9, 2004. She was 26.
Her killer has yet to be brought to justice.
On Sunday, the eve of the 14th anniversary of Jeannette’s death, Chris sat at her graveside with his young children in his lap and reflected on what might have been, and what he hopes will happen.
“I haven’t been here in years,” he said.
“I drive by the area all the time and it’s always on my mind. I don’t know why I procrastinated for so long.”
Norah and Brace will never know their aunt, and Jeannette’s son, now 19, has no memories of his mother. That fact haunts Chris to this day.
The 39-year-old St. Catharines resident chose bright red flowers to plant at his sister’s grave.
“She deserves this,” he said. “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman and beautiful individual … no matter what her lifestyle or background was.”
Jeannette’s body was discovered in the parking lot of Princess Margaret Public School in the early morning hours of July 9, 2004.
At the time of her death, Niagara Regional Police said the young woman, who was tall and had model good looks, was involved in a high-risk lifestyle.
“She met a guy, a drug dealer,” Chris recalled. “She thought she was in love but he manipulated her. The next thing you know he was making her work the streets for dates.”
“She just couldn’t see past the love for him and the drugs he handed her.”
Chris said Jeannette was “owned by the demons of the drugs,” but he had held out hope that his sister would one day be able to overcome her addictions.
All hope was dashed, however, by the knock on a door that July morning.
“I had just gotten off the night shift and I answered the door and there was a police officer asking for my mom. I will always remember that.”
Chris said he and his family continue to struggle with the loss of his sister.
“I wasn’t always the nicest person and I didn’t really mean to be that way … I dealt with it internally and it had an effect on my relationships and my job. I was bitter.”
He said an arrest in the case would go a long way to providing the family with much-needed closure.
“Life is flying by but she’s never forgotten,” Chris said.
“The person who did this is hiding a secret and, hopefully, they will slip up and mention something so we can, one day, get justice for Jeannette.”
Chris said he often finds comfort in his sister’s favourite song, “Indifference” by Pearl Jam. A song he finds emotional, yet inspiring.
“I will light the match this morning so I won’t be alone
Watch as she lies silent
For soon light will be gone
Oh I will stand arms outstretched pretend I’m free to roam
Oh I will make my way through one more day in hell
I will hold the candle till it burns up my arm
Oh I’ll keep takin’ punches until their will grows tired.”
Meanwhile, Niagara Regional Police Det. Staff Sgt. Dan Savoie says Jeannette’s homicide remains an “open case.”
Anyone with information on the unsolved murder can call police at 905-688-4111 ext. 4200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222TIPS.