Family remembers Collingwood senior killed in purse-snatching assault
The family of a Collingwood, Ont. woman who died after being knocked to the ground during a purse snatching four years ago got a little closer to justice as the man who admitted robbing the senior pleaded guilty on Thursday to criminal negligence causing her death.
"On my drive home yesterday, I drove past the cemetery where she's buried, and I stopped, and I just said, 'We did it," said Marion Fenwick's niece, Jennifer Lougheed.
Police said the 86-year-old Fenwick was walking home from a store on Sept. 14, 2019, when a man on a bicycle, identified as Caleb Burgler, assaulted her, taking her purse containing $40 and some lottery tickets.
Fenwick was seriously injured and taken to the hospital.
"She just didn't make it. She just didn't make it," Lougheed said of her beloved Auntie M.
Never more than four feet 11 inches tall, Fenwick lived independently in Toronto most of her life before retiring to Collingwood.
"[She] never drove. [She] used the TTC and public transportation and foot power to go everywhere and always felt safe," Lougheed said, adding her aunt was known for being feisty, self-sufficient, and all about her family.
Marion Fenwick (L) is pictured with her family in this undated photo. (Supplied)
Lougheed said she and her sisters want their Auntie M remembered for how she lived, not how she died.
Burgler, now 33, was arrested three days after police released images of the man on a bicycle. He was initially charged with second-degree murder.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for late April, with Fenwick's family planning to attend to deliver victim impact statements.
"I don't believe there's ever any closure in an incident like this, but we can start to move forward," Lougheed said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.