February 13th, 2014. Halifax, Canada. 26-year-old criminology student Loretta Saunders walks out of her home to pick up the rent from the apartment she was leasing. Just a normal errand, nothing unusual. A couple of quick meetings, and then she’s supposed to head straight back home. But she never makes it back.
The next day, her boyfriend receives a strange message from her phone. And um, something about it just doesn’t feel right. “I’m so nervous that I can’t even remember my own mother’s maiden name, like seriously.” Just a few minutes later, another message comes through. “I’m going to stay over at a friend’s place and talk to you later.
Um, okay?” The messages are short, sharp, and honestly, they don’t sound like Loretta at all. Her family starts getting worried almost immediately. Loretta was the kind of person who stayed in touch with her loved ones almost every hour. So, when that silence suddenly appears, um, it just feels wrong. Days go by. No one has seen Loretta.
No one has heard from her. Her car disappears. But all of her belongings are still sitting inside her home. Security cameras show that earlier that morning she walked into her own apartment to speak with the tenants. After that, there’s no footage of her ever leaving. But later that same evening, her bank card suddenly starts being used.
Store cameras capture uh a woman paying with Loretta’s card, and it’s not her. Another transaction, another video. This time, someone completely different is sitting behind the wheel of Loretta’s car. A few days later, police find the car hundreds of miles away from Halifax. Inside a nearby house are the same people who had been living in Loretta’s apartment.
And when detectives start reviewing the building surveillance footage, they notice something that makes them pause the video. February 13th, 2:30 in the afternoon. One of the tenants walks out of the building. In his hands is a large hockey bag. And it looks really heavy. Then there are more bags. Investigators begin to suspect something horrifying.
That he may have been carrying Loretta out of that building. Piece by piece. Um but when the police finally reached them, the scene they found was horrifying. Officers were stunned by what they discovered. Some of them um honestly couldn’t even hold back their tears when they learned the reason behind the crime.
And to truly understand what happened and whether it really was Loretta, we need to go all the way back to the very beginning. All right, friends. I’m going to pause for just a minute. I’m really curious where my audience is watching from. So, tell me what city are you in and what time is it there right now? Thanks for taking a moment to hear that.
Go ahead and drop it in the comments and um I’ll keep going with the story. 26-year-old Loretta Saunders was at a really exciting point in her life. She was studying criminology at Street Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. Loretta came from a big and incredibly loving family. She had seven brothers and sisters.
And even though they lived far apart from each other, their bond stayed strong. They were the kind of family that always stayed close, no matter the distance. Loretta was a young indigenous woman from Newfoundland and Labrador, and her life hadn’t been easy. She and her family had gone through a lot of hardship over the years.
Her sibling, D.M., who was previously known as Delilah, later shared that when they were growing up, both of them experienced physical and sexual abuse. Their access to education was limited, and at different points in their lives, they both struggled with drug addiction. Loretta had barely stepped into adulthood when she decided to take a huge step and move to Montreal on her own. For her, it was a massive change.
And honestly, that transition turned out to be extremely difficult and exhausting. Um sadly, her mother, Miriam, later explained that Loretta eventually fell into a serious drug addiction. At one point, it became so severe that she was even sleeping on the streets. But Miriam also said that Loretta refused to let addiction win.
She was determined to get clean and rebuild her life. She started a methadone treatment program, and little by little, her life began to stabilize again. Once things were more under control, she applied to study at St. Mary’s University. When she got accepted, she was unbelievably happy. Like, this was a huge moment for her.
She had already decided that after finishing her degree, she wanted to go to law school and become a lawyer. When it came time to choose the topic for her university thesis, she didn’t hesitate for a second. She wanted to focus on the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada. This was something that mattered deeply to her.
She wanted to give a voice to people who were often ignored, especially considering the experiences she and her family had gone through. She even hoped that one day she could work on documentary films about the issue. At the same time, her personal life was going really well, too. She had a wonderful relationship with Yelchin Seculte, and they had been together for almost 3 years.
Yelchin later said that they had just returned from a trip to visit his family in Turkey and he was telling everyone around him that she was the one. Then there was even more joyful news. Loretta found out that she was 3 months pregnant. She was incredibly excited. She couldn’t wait to build her own family. She and Yelchin were now living together in his house.
So Loretta decided to sublet her apartment to earn a little extra money. At that point Loretta Saunders had so much to look forward to. She had made huge positive changes in her life. This felt like a brand new chapter for her and Yelchin. A baby was on the way, graduation was only about 2 months away, and she was genuinely excited about the future.
Then on February 14th, 2014, DM received a call from Yelchin. He asked if she had seen Loretta. He hadn’t seen her since the day before and he was starting to panic. Yelchin explained that he had received two strange text messages from Loretta. According to him, the messages sounded tense. And um it also looked like she had suddenly locked access to her online banking.
One of the messages said, “I’m so nervous that I can’t even remember my own mother’s maiden name. Um like seriously.” Then he received another message where she wrote, “I’m going to stay at a friend’s place tonight and um I’ll talk to you later.” He had no idea who this friend even was. The message was short and abrupt with no explanation at all.
DM hadn’t heard from Loretta either and hadn’t seen her. With every passing hour, Loretta’s parents were getting more and more worried. Loretta was the kind of person who stayed in touch with her family almost every hour. So this sudden silence, um it felt really alarming. Over the next few days, everyone kept calling each other hoping that maybe someone had heard from her.
Maybe she had reached out to someone. But, no one had seen her. No one had spoken to her. Um her car had disappeared, too. Um but, all of her personal belongings were still inside the house. By the third day, the police were called and a missing person report was officially filed. Detectives arrived at the home Loretta shared with Yelchin.
According to everyone around them, Yelchin was the last person who had seen her. He told investigators that on February 13th, Loretta had a really busy day planned. She had a lot of things to take care of that day, and she was planning to juggle all of it with her school work. Hm, like trying to handle everything at once.
Her day started with a trip to her apartment, where she planned to collect the rent from her tenants. After that, she was pretty much on the move all day, going from one thing to another. He also told police that when she left the house that morning, she didn’t seem worried or stressed at all.
Loretta was always very organized, very calm, very put together. That’s just how she was. So, those two text messages he received from her, they felt completely out of character. Police spent some time searching the couple’s home, but eventually they left. By that point, they were convinced that Yelchin had nothing to do with her disappearance and that he was just as frightened for her as everyone else.
After that, officers went to Loretta’s apartment at 41 Cowee Hill Drive, room 1003. The apartment was empty, but nothing inside looked suspicious. Everything was neat and clean, and it didn’t seem like anything was missing. They were told that the couple living there had left a few days earlier to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and since then no one had returned to the apartment.
Security cameras at the entrance of the building clearly captured the doorway, and the footage shows that Loretta did arrive at the building shortly before 11:00 on February 13th. Since by that point she’d already been missing for 4 days, there was a huge amount of surveillance footage to go through. Detectives considered the possibility that she might have stayed inside the apartment while the tenants were away and then left a few days later.
So, investigators had to carefully check every single camera and review all the exits in the building just to make sure they didn’t miss anything. woman who is missing in Halifax is appealing for public help. Loretta Saunders is 26 and was pregnant when she disappeared last week. Despite a prolonged search of this Halifax apartment building, police investigators have yet to answer the question, where is Loretta Saunders? She’s an Inuk from an Inuit community in Labrador whose life hasn’t been easy, but she was on the right path.
Supporters are distributing a new batch of posters desperate for more clues. More family members are flying to Halifax next week to endure the painful mystery together. I’d like to make a national plea um to see if anyone has seen her car or has any information. She is so strong and that’s what’s keeping me going through this.
Knowing that she she wouldn’t want us, you know, wasting time crying and you know, sitting around feeling bad. She’s so smart and she is she is my world. She’s my everything. A young woman going to university that was in contact with her family every single day until February 13th. And since then, there hasn’t been any contact.
Well, I met her through friends like Back in Halifax, Saunders’ boyfriend says he hasn’t seen her since last Thursday. He said she was going to see her roommates. She said she was stressed and like she locked herself out and banking online banking and like she she she need she needed money.
It’s like I’m so stressed that like I can’t even remember my own own mother’s maiden name. We We need to We need to get her back. And so, a Facebook campaign has been launched to bring Saunders home. An online fundraiser was created to help pay for travel so that Loretta’s family could come from Newfoundland and Labrador to Nova Scotia.
The goal was to bring five of her brothers along with her parents to be together during the search. Within just a few days, the necessary amount of money was raised and the family was finally able to reunite. Detectives also contacted Blake and Victoria, the tenants who had been renting Loretta’s apartment.
They told police that they hadn’t seen or heard from her for several days either. According to them, they were far outside the city, um about 200 miles away. So, they said they couldn’t really help much with the investigation. Not long after that, detectives discovered that Loretta’s bank cards were still active and were being used through contactless payments.
At first, that actually gave investigators a little bit of hope. Maybe it was a good sign. Maybe Loretta was still out there somewhere. On February 13th, shortly before 5:00 in the evening, Loretta’s card was used at a store. Surveillance cameras captured her car parked outside near the entrance. But, the woman who paid with the card didn’t look anything like Loretta.
Just a few minutes later, the card was used again. This time at a Tim Hortons, about 10 miles from her apartment. The video showed a woman wearing a blue jacket. And once the employee at the counter stepped away, the camera briefly revealed the person sitting behind the wheel of the car. And that person, um, was clearly not Loretta, either.
Five days later, detectives in Halifax received a call from another police department. Loretta’s car had been found hundreds of miles away in Harrow, Ontario. The vehicle was parked outside a private house. And the people inside that house turned out to be none other than Blake Leggette and Victoria Henneberry, Loretta’s tenants.
Uh, they were arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. But at that point, police still needed answers. Investigators had to figure out what actually happened, where Loretta was, and, um, whether the two of them were directly involved in her disappearance. It’s now eight days since a young Inuit woman vanished without a trace in Nova Scotia.
And while her car has turned up in southern Ontario, Loretta Saunders has not. That’s left police and her family with a lot of questions. Her car was found at this home in Harrow, Ontario. Her two new roommates, Victoria Henneberry and Blake Leggette, were charged with stealing Saunders’ vehicle and improper use of her bank card. They’re facing charges for the use of, uh, of a bank card belonging to to Miss Saunders.
Who was here? They said they’re keeping her somewhere. I still think that that she’s there somewhere. As the search for evidence continues, investigators are preparing to travel to Ontario and bring the two accused back to Nova Scotia. Blake told police that Loretta had supposedly sold him the car before they left the city.
He explained that the price she offered was actually cheaper than buying a plane ticket. So, um he said he was more than happy to take the deal. But, investigators quickly discovered that both suspects were already wanted in connection with other cases. Blake had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court in Calgary, and Victoria was being sought for making threats against someone in Halifax.
During a search, police found Loretta’s phone in Victoria’s possession. And Blake had Loretta’s bank cards. Investigators then reviewed the surveillance footage inside the building to see if Blake or Victoria appeared on camera that day. At 2:30 in the afternoon on February 13th, the video shows Blake walking through the building carrying what looks like a very heavy hockey bag.
He carried the bag outside, then went back into the building, and about half an hour later, he came out again, this time with more bags. It happened a third time, and that was the last trip. This time, Victoria was with him. Knowing everything they had already discovered by that point, officers said the footage felt chilling to watch.
To them, it started to look painfully clear that Loretta was most likely inside that hockey bag, and that she would not be found alive. Um neither Blake nor Victoria said anything. But, when investigators finally gained access to Blake’s phone, they discovered something that was almost like a direct confession.
A few days before Loretta was last seen, Blake had recorded a video of himself and Victoria arguing while they were drunk. ARE YOU HUNGRY? STOP IT. Are you hungry? Wait for me. Are you hungry? You can’t even say that you really want to kill Loretta. Really? You said that you want to kill her earlier.
When did I say that? Don’t lie about who I want to kill, and maybe you should stop lying. Who do you want to kill then? You’re the one who said You’re just You You You just said You’re Kate the Detectives believed Victoria would be easier to break than Blake, so they decided to show her the video.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, and she said, “He did it. He killed her. He suffocated her with a bag.” According to Victoria, the reason for what happened was that they supposedly wanted to avoid paying the rent they owed. That’s how she explained the motive behind everything that took place that day.
In her version of events, the financial pressure and the growing debt were what led to the tragedy. But, as the investigation continued, more details started to come out. Um detectives learned that Loretta had actually asked them to move out of the apartment. Um this decision hadn’t come out of nowhere. It was the result of months of tension between them.
During that time, they either didn’t pay the rent at all or paid it late. The problem kept repeating again and again, and eventually Loretta’s patience ran out. By that point, they owed her about $600. For Loretta, it had become a matter of principle and fairness. She couldn’t keep accepting the same situation over and over.
That’s why she came to the apartment that day. Her intention was simple. She wanted to wait until they paid what they owed and make sure they would actually move out afterward. Meanwhile, the police continued their intense investigation. Detectives kept pressing Victoria for more answers, trying to get any piece of information that could help them understand what had happened to Loretta.
During the interrogations, they urged her to tell the truth and reveal where Loretta was. Time kept passing and her family and friends were left living in painful uncertainty. Days of searching went by and only about 2 weeks after the search had begun, Victoria finally agreed to show investigators the location.
Detectives went there with her. On the side of a highway, roughly 300 miles from where everything had started, the search finally led to a horrifying discovery. That’s where Loretta’s body was found. Two weeks ago, Loretta Saunders, a 26-year-old Halifax university student, vanished.
An incredible volunteer effort mobilized to try to find her, to bring this woman home safely. And as one Aboriginal leader put it last night after it was discovered that her body was found and that this was a homicide case, people were just so incredibly saddened. People had stepped up and fallen in love with this woman. So, Elizabeth, talk about the two people now facing theft charges after being found in Ontario with Saunders’ car.
What do we know about them? Mac had has a bail hearing in Halifax tomorrow. Hannah Berry was interrogated by Halifax police yesterday and late yesterday afternoon, police announced they had a homicide investigation on their hands and that the body of Loretta Saunders had been discovered. She was still inside that same hockey bag.
The bag they had put her in after the attack. The same bag that had been carried out of the apartment and transported away from the crime scene. That’s exactly how investigators found her hidden, silent, abandoned as if her life could simply be concealed along with her body. That detail alone made the cruelty of what happened feel even more disturbing.
During the autopsy, forensic pathologists conducted a careful examination to determine the exact cause of death. The results confirmed the worst fears. The conclusion was clear. Loretta had been suffocated. That finding officially confirmed what the circumstances of the case had already suggested her death was the result of violent actions that left her with no chance to escape.
Today has been another emotional day at Saint Mary’s University as the university paid tribute to Loretta Saunders. Her two roommates are now charged with murder. More than 200 people filled the hall at Saint Mary’s University. There wasn’t an empty chair to be found at the memorial for Loretta Saunders.
And we’re here to honor her, remember her, respect her. The death of the soon-to-be graduate has had a profound impact. Your life was very truly precious. We all miss your glamour and cheer. Know that you will never be forgotten. I know your spirit still lingers here. The president of Saint Mary’s says if the family agrees, a scholarship will be named in Loretta’s memory.
The family will get to say goodbye to their girl tomorrow. A funeral for Loretta’s planned for Goose Bay, Labrador. Despite Victoria’s partial confession, in the early stage of the case, both Blake and Victoria officially claimed they were innocent. During the first court hearings, they insisted that they did not admit to the charges brought against them.
That meant the case was expected to move into a full trial where the prosecution would have to prove their guilt. Their defense lawyers also filed a separate motion with the court. They argued that Blake and Victoria should be tried separately in two different trials. According to the defense, separate proceedings would ensure a fairer process and prevent one defendant’s testimony from influencing the case against the other.
But, the judge carefully reviewed that request and ultimately denied it. After considering the arguments from both sides, he ruled that the trial would proceed with both defendants together. So, Blake and Victoria would stand before the court side by side and answer the charges within the same trial. However, despite their earlier claims of innocence, the situation suddenly took an unexpected turn.
Right before the trial was set to begin, everything changed. Just on the eve of the court proceedings, their statements shifted dramatically. What had looked like the beginning of a long and complicated trial suddenly moved in a completely different direction. And that decision would significantly affect how the case unfolded next.
Labrador tonight, a sense of relief at news Loretta Saunders’ killers have admitted guilt. called an agreed statement of facts was submitted to the court. It was a formal record where both sides laid out the sequence of events that led to the tragedy. This document helped piece together the key details of the case and presented the court with a unified account of what had happened.
Each of them described their version of the events and slowly the picture of that day began to come together. After a long investigation and countless questions, the truth about what happened that day finally became clear. According to their statements, Loretta was sitting on a chair waiting for them to return the rent money they owed her.
It was supposed to be a normal moment. Just a short conversation and then she would leave. But in that moment, everything suddenly changed. They both said that Blake walked up behind Loretta and suddenly began choking her. The attack happened without warning. Loretta fought desperately. She tried to break free, tried to defend herself, tried to stop the attack.
During the struggle, they lost their balance and fell to the floor together. After that, Blake tried to suffocate her using four plastic bags, placing them over her one after another, but Loretta kept fighting. She managed to tear through each bag trying to escape and stay alive. Then Blake used even more force. He slammed her head against the floor twice.
The blows were so strong that eventually Loretta stopped moving. After that, he wrapped her head in plastic wrap. Then he placed her body inside his hockey bag. He dragged the bag down the stairs to the bottom of the building and loaded it into the trunk of her own car. After that, they got on the road acting as if nothing had happened. During the trip, they used Loretta’s bank card to buy food and other things, but there was a problem.
They didn’t know her password. So, Victoria used Loretta’s phone. She pretended to be her and sent messages to Yelchin trying to make it seem like everything was fine. Loretta Saunders lost her life for one reason. Blake and Victoria wanted to avoid paying $600. And it’s clear that she fought for her life with everything she had.
Everything about the case shows that she resisted until the very end. It was a senseless and completely unnecessary murder. A crime that should never have happened. The way this couple planned their actions and then tried to hide what they had done is both horrifying and shocking. After the agreed statement of facts was presented, Blake pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Victoria pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Blake’s lawyer later said that the decision to plead guilty had been made by Blake himself. He said he didn’t want the Saunders family to go through an extremely exhausting and painful public trial where, over the course of several weeks, every detail and every piece of evidence would be laid out in court.
Blake automatically received a life sentence, the most severe punishment allowed by law for a crime like this. That means he will spend the rest of his life in prison. But, even with a life sentence, there are specific legal rules. In his case, the court ruled that he will not be eligible to apply for parole until 25 years have passed.
That’s the That’s the standard minimum period for this type of sentence in cases like this. During that time, he has absolutely no opportunity to request a review from the parole board. Only after those 25 years are completed, can he submit his first application, which would then be reviewed separately. And even then, it does not guarantee release.
Victoria also received a life sentence. However, the conditions of her sentence were different. The court determined that she would be eligible to apply for parole much earlier. According to the ruling, she will be allowed to apply to the parole board 10 years after the sentence was handed down.
That doesn’t mean she will automatically be released. It simply gives her the right to submit a request, after which a special board will review her case and decide whether she still poses a danger to society. So, even though both of them received life sentences, the timelines for when they can first be considered for parole are very different.
Blood on her hands, from my daughter, and she got 10 years. Now, what kind of justice is that? You tell me what kind of justice. A pregnant woman, a small little pregnant woman, two big monsters. And you know, they say they give us justice. 10 years. Is that justice? Anybody. Pregnant women murdered. Two murderers.
I’d like to see the uh uh I would like to see the death penalty coming. I would like to see the death penalty and cold-blooded murderers be taken off the street once and for all. They haven’t got the right to breathe the air what we breathe because they took the life of my daughter and my grandchild. They murdered her without mercy.
And I think we should have no mercy on them. As I walked down to the courthouse, I deep down in my heart I was I was praying and I was saying, “God, if you’re real, I’m sorry for to be questioning you. If you’re real God and you really have my daughter with you, please ask them to plead guilty.” And it was so funny.
Then I would say, “Oh my God, what’s that?” You know, I was talking to God. And you know, God answered my prayer and the all the prayers, the people, supporters who’ve been praying for us all through, our prayers was answered and I’d like to thank everybody. I’m so emotional. I’m I’m going to miss my girl.
I’m glad that we don’t have to go through what we had to do. And I’m feeling bad for their parents. It’s like it’s I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed. I’m really overwhelmed. The judge described the crime as disgusting, horrific, and cowardly. Those words echoed through the courtroom, heavy and sharp, leaving a long silence behind them.
They weren’t just legal language. They were a clear judgment of what had happened, a reflection of the brutality and the senselessness of the crime. For Loretta’s family, the entire court process became an emotionally exhausting ordeal. Every hearing forced them to relive the events all over again. The pain, the anger, and the grief were all tangled together.
At one point, the emotions became so overwhelming that DM suddenly rushed toward Blake and Victoria shouting at them. It was a raw and uncontrolled reaction, the kind that comes from years of pain building up inside. When the family walked out of the courtroom, the tension was still thick in the air.
And in that moment, someone in the room shouted toward Blake saying they would be waiting for him. Waiting for the day he might one day walk free. It was a short sentence, but it sounded like a reminder that for many people, this story would never truly be over. In early 2017, Victoria tried to withdraw her guilty plea.
She claimed that at the time she had not been in a sound state of mind and didn’t fully understand what she was doing. But, the court carefully reviewed her request and just a few months later, it was denied. After that, Victoria began telling people that she had indigenous ancestry on her mother’s side. She tried to present herself as someone connected to indigenous communities.
But, the parole board later stated that they had no information confirming that story or that background. For Loretta’s family and for many people in the community, those claims were especially painful to hear. They openly said that statements like that felt like an insult to Loretta’s memory. To them, it looked like manipulation.
Um like a cheap trick, a way to gain sympathy or possibly certain privileges. Two years later, Victoria reached out to a support center for indigenous women. She hoped the organization might help her seek release from prison or at least support her request. But after reviewing the situation, the center rejected her application.
After that, Victoria made another request. She asked for permission to attend a talking circle and a drum ceremony that was organized for indigenous women. At first, the parole board granted that request. But the decision triggered a strong and very negative public reaction. Many people felt it was completely unacceptable.
And under that pressure, the permission was quickly withdrawn. After that, a decision was made that Victoria would no longer be allowed to access any programs or services specifically intended for indigenous communities. Around the same time, another tragedy that had happened a few years earlier continued to leave a deep mark on society.
In 2014, a 15-year-old First Nations girl named Tina Fontaine was reported missing. Her disappearance caused widespread concern. Not long after, the worst possible news came out. Her body was found in the Red River. It had been wrapped in plastic and weighed down. Police charged a 53-year-old man in connection with the case.
But during the trial, a serious problem emerged. Because of the lack of sufficient forensic evidence, the court ultimately found him not guilty. After the killings of Loretta Saunders and Tina Fontaine, and after many other cases involving missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, the issue began receiving more and more public attention.
Human rights organizations and activists started demanding change. One campaign in particular gained widespread support using the hashtag #MMIWG. The goal was to bring attention to the systemic crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Activists called for an official national inquiry into these crimes.
That inquiry was eventually launched in 2017. It lasted several years and became one of the largest investigations into the issue in Canada. In 2019, the inquiry was completed leaving behind important findings and recommendations about how to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. Why have you decided to testify here? The reason I chose Nova Scotia was my daughter was Loretta Saunders was murdered here and here’s where all my supports I feel my supports are.
She started talking to me and getting me to open up and realize what was happening to our people and giving me the courage and to be able to speak up. I was never able to speak up to people before but now since her death and meeting people out here that helped me and showed me around.
Cheryl was one of them, showed me around and made me understand, “Hey, this is knowing to it because this is not my first murder in my family and usually we just have to sit and and deal with it on our own. We don’t have help.” DM created a blog called A Homicide Survivor’s Journey Through Grief. It became a space where he started speaking openly about the pain of loss and about the long complicated path through grief.
In his posts, he shared his experiences, his thoughts, and how life after a tragedy changes forever. For him, it wasn’t just about expressing his own pain. It was also a way to show others the lasting impact of violence, the kind of consequences that people on the outside often don’t see. Over time, he also began working closely with filmmaker Matthew Smiley, the director of the documentary Highway of Tears.
The film draws attention to one of the most painful and disturbing issues in Canada, the disappearances and murders of people from First Nations communities. At the center of the documentary is the infamous Highway 16, a road that has carried a dark reputation for decades. Along this highway, many indigenous people have disappeared or been killed.
It’s a long and remote stretch of road in British Columbia, running for about 724 km. Because of the large number of unresolved cases and the years of uncertainty surrounding them, the road became known by a haunting name, the Highway of Tears. In Halifax, two movie theaters decided to screen the documentary during special showings.
The purpose of these screenings was very clear. They were organized to support the Loretta Saunders Scholarship Fund. This scholarship fund was created in her honor, helping indigenous women pay for post-secondary education and continue their studies. For many people, these screenings were more than just a film event.
They were a way to preserve Loretta’s memory and support the cause she cared so deeply about. DM explained that the screenings were organized for one simple reason, to honor Loretta, to continue the work she wanted to do, and to make sure that what she fought so hard for would never be forgotten. She wanted to do the same kind of work Matt was doing.
She was supposed to be here, you know, a brilliant writer, and he’s a filmmaker and a writer. They were meant to be standing on this side, helping this cause. But now, she’s just another statistic. A lot of the things I do now, mm, I probably do them without even realizing it, because deep down I just want my sister to be proud of me.
Not long after that, DM received the Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International. I learned so much from my sister during the short time she had on this earth. She taught me so many lessons, and in a way she still guides me and inspires me. And hmm I just hope that by sharing her story and my own experiences I can help someone else, too.
In a tragic turn of events, in September 2021, Miriam Saunders shared news that became another painful blow for the family. She announced that DM had passed away. For those close to him, it was a moment when old wounds were torn open again. The grief the family had already endured after losing Loretta came rushing back, a painful reminder of just how deep the consequences of tragedy can go.
After Loretta’s death, many lives were changed forever. For DM, the loss was especially devastating. His struggle with addiction, which had already been a serious challenge before, only became worse after her death. Over time, his condition continued to decline. The ongoing addiction led to severe health complications, and eventually it resulted in liver failure.
In a desperate attempt to break free from that cycle, DM made a sudden and drastic decision. He abruptly stopped taking his medications, hoping it would help him overcome the addiction. But, the consequences of that step were extremely severe. His body began going through intense withdrawal symptoms. The pain and physical discomfort became overwhelming.
And trying to cope with that suffering, um he he started drinking alcohol to ease it. But, that decision only made things worse. What began as an attempt to numb the pain slowly turned into another dangerous spiral that pushed his health even further downhill. Later, it was officially confirmed that DM died from accidental asphyxia.
Investigators determined that his death was connected to complications caused by long-term struggles with addiction. It became another heartbreaking chapter in a story where grief, loss, and addiction became tragically intertwined in a chain of devastating events. Dozens of people gathered in Halifax’s Parade Square last night in memory of a young woman whose story touched the lives of people from coast to coast.
What happened on February 13th changed the lives of so many people. One day, one moment that became the point of no return. For her family, for her friends, for the people who knew her personally, and even for those who only heard about her story in the news. And even though time has passed since then, the impact of this tragedy hasn’t disappeared. It’s still there.
In the memories, in the pain carried by the people who loved her, and in those quiet places where her name is still spoken with sadness. Loretta Saunders was at an incredible, exciting point in her life. It was a time when the future felt wide open, full of possibilities. Her path ahead was filled with plans, dreams, and new beginnings.
She was building her life step by step. And at the same time, there was another moment waiting ahead that would have changed her world forever, the birth of her child. That expectation brought hope, joy, and the feeling of a brand new beginning. But, Loretta’s greatest passion was something bigger than her own future plans.
At the center of her life was a desire for change. She wanted people to know more, to understand more. Her real goal was to raise awareness, to help educate others, and to believe that one day those efforts could lead to real meaningful change. She believed knowledge could open people’s eyes. That words could carry real power, and that even one person can make a difference in the world around them.
And that’s why it feels only right to end this story with Loretta’s own words, words she wrote herself. A passage from her thesis, a project she was incredibly proud of. Something she worked on for a long time, pouring into it her thoughts, her research, and her deep belief that change is possible. It was work she dreamed of sharing with the world one day.
And today, those words carry even more weight than ever. My story isn’t unique. Thousands of girls go through the exact same things, things I honestly couldn’t even imagine wishing on another human being. And through this project, I hope to help educate people, open their eyes, and also give hope and inspiration that real change is possible.
