The body of Tyeshia Jones was found Jan. 28, 2011, near Duncan on Vancouver Island.RCMP handout
Nearly 1,200 people attended a solemn, emotionally charged memorial service for 18-year-old murder victim Tyeshia Jones on the Cowichan Indian Reserve in Duncan.
Family members, including Ms. Jones' mother, Mary Jim, and her sister, Aaliyah Jones, stood alongside the coffin on Friday holding white candles as Cowichan elder Lloyd Bob chanted prayers to carry the young woman's spirit into the afterlife.
"Today, we prepare her for her final journey in this world, one that will finally open a door for her to a new trail, one where there's no more pain and no more suffering," Mr. Bob said.
Ms. Jones' coffin stood on a pedestal in the Cowichan band gymnasium, draped in linen and white roses and surrounded by bouquets of flowers. Much of the hour-long ceremony was devoted to sacred funeral dirges, accompanied by the slow steady ringing of a single brass bell.
Ms. Jones disappeared on Jan. 22 after leaving a friend's house on Miller Road where she had intended to spend the night. Police have revealed that she sent a text message to a friend at about 3 a.m., indicating she was walking toward the Duncan Superstore to meet a male friend.
Her body was found in a wooded area on the outskirts of the southern Vancouver Island town last Friday. On Monday, the B.C. Coroner's Service confirmed that Ms. Jones was murdered, but did not reveal the cause of death.
Thirty officers from the RCMP and Vancouver Island major crimes unit have been assigned to the investigation, but have not identified any suspects.
The crowd of mourners on Friday included First Nations representatives from across Vancouver Island and as far away as Whistler, as well as a large contingent of non-native Duncan residents.
"What has happened has affected the whole community, and I think the chance to stand together in solidarity and pray is healing for everybody," said long-time Cowichan Valley resident Louise McMurray.
As many as 400 people followed the funeral procession across town to St. Anne's Cemetery, near Cowichan Bay, where Ms. Jones was buried among her ancestors in a graveyard marked by dozens of white wooden crosses.
Ms. Jones' mother and sister wept openly as pallbearers lowered her casket into the grave. The men of the Cowichan Indian band were then invited to toss a shovel full of earth into the hole as a symbol of respect for her short life.
"It's still such a shock. She is like one of our own children," said band member Wayne Charlie, a cousin of the Jones family. "You just don't expect something like this to happen to a young person with so much care and kindness."
Police have not said whether they believe the killing was random or targeted; however, RCMP have urged Duncan residents to avoid walking alone at night and to travel by car, public transit or taxi whenever possible.
Special to the Globe and Mail