Who was Triffie Wadman? Her family wants you to know

Sarina Wadman can't really explain what it is about music that reminds her of her murdered sister, Triffie. Maybe it was Triffie's love of life and intensely fun spirit.

• 'In Her Name' vigil remembers slain, missing local women
• Trevor Pardy found guilty of murdering Triffie Wadman

​Triffie Wadman was born April 30,1981 to Frank Wadman and Melvena Greene of Freshwater, Placentia Bay.

Her sister Sarina, who is three years younger, said she and Triffie would sit and chat about their lives. They were each other's sounding board.

"She was really full of life. She was a really compassionate person. If anyone was lucky enough to know her and be in her circle, they were taken care of," Sarina Wadman told CBC News Tuesday.

"And unfortunately there's going to be a lot of people who won't get to know that."

Triffie Wadman was 30 when she was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in October 2011. He was convicted and sentenced for her murder this month.

She was lying in the road, bleeding to death, waiting for medical attention.

Focused on her daughter

At 19, Triffie Wadman, who was known to be a "social butterfly," had a child of her own who she named Terra.

Soon, Triffie's goals in life focused directly on her daughter, her sister said.

She completed a business administration program. Prior to leaving for Alberta with her killer, Wadman had a job at Maderra Engineering.

Triffie was so important and all I wanted to do was shout from the rooftops how great she was and how lost we are.- Sarina Wadman

"It was about giving [Terra] the best of everything so her goals in life were to provide, take care of and support her daughter and look after her family," Sarina Wadman said.

"Triffie poured a lot into her job. Right from day one."

Shortly before being gunned down on a west-end St. John's cul de sac, Triffie Wadman had gotten a new job at a car dealership.

A time to talk

For four years, the Wadman family remained tightlipped about Triffie Wadman — about who she was and the pain her death had on all of them.

Fear of affecting the court case — which was plagued with delays — kept them from speaking publicly.

"Everybody [was] worried about infringing on [Trevor Pardy's] rights and things, and that's understandable, but it was very hard to sit and get to the point where we needed to get to, the part were we got to release our hurt," Sarina Wadman said.

"Triffie was so important and all I wanted to do was shout from the rooftops how great she was, and how lost we are and everybody, who knew her, is."

Throughout the years without her sister, Sarina Wadman said she lost the person she turned to when she needed to talk.

That moment came she found out she was pregnant and had a baby boy prematurely.

"This was the biggest moment in my entire life and I didn't have my sister," said Sarina Wadman,, who now has a healthy 10-month-old boy.

"I spent a lot of time sitting with my sister and bouncing my life off her, you know, and then this happened and I didn't have her to bounce anything off of."

Sarina Wadman can breathe a little easier now that the man responsible for killing her sister is going to federal prison. Now that justice has been served, she wants to change the conversation.

She wants to talk about Triffie.