'It doesn't feel real': Funeral held in Edmonton for mother, child killed in stabbing

Dozens of people gathered at a church Wednesday to bid an emotional farewell to a mother and her child who were stabbed to death outside an Edmonton school earlier this month.

Carolann Robillard, 35, and 11-year-old Sarah Miller, who had recently started using the first name Jayden, were killed in what police said was a random attack outside Crawford Plains School on May 5.

Those who attended the funeral at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples, northeast of downtown Edmonton donned T-shirts with a photo of the mother and child. Attendees embraced each other ahead of the service.

Robillard's sister, Amanda Robillard, said purple was her sibling's favourite colour. She said a community member donated pins with a purple ribbon for the funeral to honour Robillard and Jayden.

With a blend of Indigenous traditions and Catholic practices, the caskets of Robillard and Jayden were carried inside the church as the hall resounded with Cree drums and singing, with the scent of sage lingering in the air.

"It doesn't feel real," Amanda Robillard said. "(Carolann) cared about her kids. She was a great mother."

She added Miller had a big heart and loved everyone.

"He wanted to become a professional basketball player."

The sister said the attack could have been preventable.

"They were taken from us and it tore our family apart," she said.

The man who killed the mother and child had been facing assault charges for allegedly attacking a man on a scooter, police have said, but the charges were stayed two days before the attack.

Officers shot the man during an altercation with him shortly after the stabbings. He died in the hospital five days later.

Police have said the 33-year-old was the sole person responsible for the deaths. Since he was incapacitated in the hospital and later died, police said they won't be naming the killer or laying any charges against him.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the province's police watchdog, is investigating the shooting.

Police have said the killer was known to them, had mental health issues and a record of assaulting children.

Her brother questioned the security at the school.

"We don't know how long he was sitting at that park … Schools need to change security-wise," George Robillard said.

Investigators have said that Jayden and his eight-year-old sister had walked home from school but could not get inside. They walked back to the school to meet their mother when they were attacked.

The eight-year-old escaped but witnessed the stabbings. Robillard was a single mother of three. The kids are now being raised by Robillard's sister and mother.

During the funeral Wednesday, Katti Holmes, Robillard's best friend, described her as the life of the party.

"The day I found out about her (death) was my birthday," Holmes said of her friend of eight years. "She was supposed to be there."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.