Friends of a Saint John woman killed in a murder-suicide are speaking out about how she died, and what they’re doing to help her family afford a funeral.
Maggie Pearce says it was her friend Cathy Bawn who was found dead on June 29 in a home on Red Head Road.
Saint John police are releasing no more details about the incident, but said it was a murder-suicide involving a 50-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man.
Pearce says she’s still stunned by her friend’s death, but hopes it at least can serve to shed some light on a dark issue.
"It really breaks my heart. I hope it brings awareness about, you know — the end result was domestic violence and I hope it brings awareness to people,” Pearce said.
Pearce says she’s been touched by the outpouring of support after she and Chris Pyne started a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for Bawn’s funeral, after learning her family had no coverage for the costs.
"They weren't prepared — no one could ever be prepared for something like this — and I really felt that it was the right thing to do,” Pearce said
“Everyone felt so helpless.”
Bawn was well-known in the community from her work at a local convenience store, which is where Pyne met her.
“It's a tragic situation … (it’s) nothing that you expect to happen, then all of the sudden everything has changed in life,” he said.
Police say they are still awaiting the results of a post-mortem, but Pearce says for her there are still many unanswered questions.
"She touched so many people in the community … she just always had a smile and a joke for everybody — a really kind, kind lady,” she said.
“I'm going to miss her."
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ashley Blackford
