'It felt like the whole world collapsed': Arrest brings closure for Angela Poorman's daughter
Man, 18, arrested in 2014 Winnipeg killing
When Nautia Crier received word Winnipeg police had made an arrest she was finally able to feel a bit of closure about her mother's death.
"As soon as I heard I was crying and stuff. It was like tears of joy but at the same time I felt mad and the pain came back all over again," said Crier, the 15-year-old daughter of Angela Marie Poorman, who was killed two years ago.
On Monday, police arrested a suspect in the slaying of Angela Poorman, 29, a mother of three who was stabbed to death in the North End just before 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 14, 2014. An 18-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder. His name is not being released because he was a minor at the time of the homicide.
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"Having this happen finally just makes the world a little more better, a little more homey, a little more worth living on," Crier said in an interview from Saskatoon, Sask.
"Knowing that that person was still out there, with a risk of other people having the same chance, ate me alive emotionally and mentally, especially over the two years having absolutely no closure."
Crier was the oldest of Angela Poorman's children and said she was getting close to her mother again after some time apart.
"For that to be taken away within one morning, one wrong move, with one wrong person, tore my heart out," she said.
"It felt like the whole world collapsed right before my eyes, just as I was about to experience life for the first time."
Angela Poorman's older sister, Candice, said after years of hurt and wondering what happened, it was important that someone was charged.
"I pray all the time for my sister's murderer to be found. Now that he's been found I feel that my sister rests in peace officially because I've been holding on to her," Candice Poorman said.
"For the past almost two years I felt very astonished, very broken and hurt … my sister was gone and her killer was still out there."
Candice Poorman and her sister grew up in foster care, she said, but became very close as teenagers.
"She was an awesome person, very caring. She loved her children but she made mistakes in her life," Candice Porrman said.
Candice Poorman and Crier said they will be coming to Winnipeg for court proceedings.
"It's not over quite yet. We are still going to get the justice we need," Candice Poorman said.
Angela Poorman's story was covered as part of CBC's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women series.
With files from Kelly Malone