Wearing a white t-shirt with “Play guitar, not guns” inscribed on the back, Dianne Bruce holds a photograph of her dead son-in-law, Jesse Archer.The 26-year-old musician died from a gunshot wound in Belleville this summer.It has been hell for Archer’s family members as they wait for an accused gunman to go on trial next month for the shooting.All they know is Archer was found dead after a night of bar hopping with friends in June.Bruce’ sister-in-law, Lisa, along with a dozen others, marched for their murdered loved ones in the annual Walk for Justice at Queen’s Park on Sunday.“For my daughter, he was the love of her life for over six years,”
Bruce, 46, told the crowd. “He was a rising musician. He’s in our hearts and we’re hoping that justice will be served. I’m trying to deal with ‘How did my son-in-law get murdered accidentally?’”The Walk for Justice marks its third anniversary this year, with similar marches going on in Barrie, Sudbury and Sydney, N.S.“Without justice, we cheapen lives,” said Moonie Ali, who began the walk after her 15-year-old son, Terrence, was beaten to death in Scarborough in 2003. “Without justice, the victims and families have no hope or peace and the rest of us can only blindly hope that tragedy would never happen to us.”The group marched down to the courthouse at 361 University Ave.
Amber O’Hara, who suffers from a terminal illness, said she remembered hearing on the news that the body of her cousin, Carolyn Connolly, had been discovered in 2008 in a dank alleyway on Seaton St. Connolly, 54, was stabbed three times in the heart.“Police aren’t considering it a cold case yet, but I know people who know who did it and they’re not saying anything,” O’Hara said. “When I heard her name, I went into shock. It’s not our Carolyn. A part of me died.”O’Hara said she likely won’t be able to survive long enough to see justice served, but she still hopes that someone will come forward.“My mission in life was to survive long enough for justice, because my doctor (has given me) until December or early spring, perhaps,” she said. “That makes me really sad. But I guess I’ll get the answers when I meet her. She had a
heart of gold.”
Source: Toronto Sun
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