SENSE OF JUSTICE
Families of slain women thankful charges laid
Learning that a man is accused of murder in the death of his aunt was both a “sad and joyous moment,” said the nephew of Jeanette Marie Chief, one of two aboriginal women a 59-year-old from Red Deer is accused of killing nearly a decade ago.
Gordon Alfred Rogers, 59, is charged with two counts of firstdegree murder in connection with the deaths in the Lloydminster area in 2007 and 2009.
Chief, a 48-year-old mother of seven, was last seen leaving a Lloydminster hotel at about midnight on June 2, 2007. Her body was found four days later in a slough in a rural area on the Saskatchewan side of Lloydminster. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Violet Heathen, 49, was last seen getting into a green pickup truck with a Saskatchewan licence plate outside the same hotel on May 15, 2009. Her remains were found by a hunter in a rural area near Kitscoty, Alta., about 25 kilometres away, on Nov. 7, 2009. Her death was also declared a homicide.
Both women were from Onion Lake Cree Nation.
Jeanette Chief’s nephew, Tom Chief, said Thursday at a news conference in Edmonton that the family is grateful to RCMP for giving them a sense of justice after so long.
“Years of wondering, pain, hurt and addictions has torn this family to pieces,” Tom Chief said.
“He took a piece of us that will never be replaced ... Jeanette was a beloved mother, caring auntie, loving sister and protective grandmother, who loved and cherished those around her.”
Her son, Justin Wolfe, said trying to cope with her killing has been a “hell-like experience.”
With members of the Heathen family crying and supporting each other, RCMP Insp. Gibson Glavin read a statement on their behalf, describing her as a mother and grandmother who loved horses and “could liven any room with her happy, carefree spirit.”
“We know she is at rest peacefully,” the family’s statement said.
“This has been an overwhelming event for the family. Wherever she went she had lots of friends. She was always there to give a helping hand. She was a giver, although she never had much money. If she had anything to give, she would give to whoever needed it.”
RCMP on Thursday said Rogers had known Heathen “for a few years” but was not known to Chief.
According to a police news release, RCMP were able to “identify a nexus between the two cases” after “extensive” investigations by Alberta’s historical homicide unit and Saskatchewan’s historical case unit identified Rogers as a person of interest. The collaborative efforts between the two units led to the arrest of Rogers on Tuesday in Edmonton, RCMP said.
Though it took years for charges to be laid, the investigations were never put on hold, RCMP said, noting the charges were the result of years of dogged police work on both sides of the Alberta and Saskatchewan boundary. Staff Sgt. Dale Rockel of the Saskatoon RCMP major crimes unit said the investigation required an “immense” amount of time and resources.
He said information that came to light in the last year linked the two historical homicides and led police to a suspect.
“I think from my perspective, there is nothing more satisfying than solving a case where someone thought they got away with it,” said RCMP Supt. Gary Steinke.
Rogers is scheduled to appear April 5 in Lloydminster provincial court.