Community of Hinton, Alta., mourns loss of mother and her 16-month-old
Jerry Melvin, a resident of Hinton for 65 years, gently placed a teddy bear at a growing makeshift memorial outside an apartment complex in the community Sunday afternoon.
A woman living there, along with her 16-month-old toddler, were killed this week.
Around 6 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a report that a woman and her toddler were missing. Friday evening RCMP said in a news release that the woman and her child were later found dead.
Robert Keith Major, 53, of Hinton, faces two counts of second-degree murder and one count of indignity to human remains.
RCMP confirmed to CTV News Edmonton that Major is a convicted sexual offender. The Edmonton Police Service said in a media release in 2017 that it had “reasonable grounds” to believe he would commit “another sexual offence against a female, including children.”
Investigators say Major lived in the same apartment complex as the woman and her child.
Minesh Kadam lived in that same apartment complex for a year. He was coming home after finishing a shift from work when he saw the complex surrounded by police as they investigated.
“The police barricaded the whole thing,” he shared.
For Kadam, the incident shocked him.
“It’s a tragic incident, like too much to digest,” he said. “It’s too much.
“No one could imagine that,” he added. “It’s a small town.”
Kadam said once he saw the picture of the person in police custody, he immediately recognized him.
“He used to live right across our balcony,” he said. “Whenever we used to go for a smoke, we used to see him and he would wave at us.”
For Melvin, there are no words to describe the tragedy that occurred.
“Sad, hard to imagine,” he told CTV News Edmonton.
“The community is just upset,” he added. “It’s not fair.
“Me and my wife would say hello to him, when he was out on his balcony,” Melvin shared. “What’s really scary is my wife took him to the bottle depot.
“He needed a ride,” he said. “I think about that. Something could’ve happened very bad.”
Investigators are not releasing the identities of the victims, nor any information about the cause of death.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.