Homicide victim trapped in cycle of abuse, family and friends say

WARNING: This story contains details of alleged intimate partner violence.

Marie Gabriel was trapped in a violent relationship with an older man who controlled her every movement — from where she worked, to whom she spoke, and when she left the house, according to her family and friends.

Gabriel, 24, was found bludgeoned to death inside the basement of her Heatherington Road townhouse on Monday morning. She moved there in December with her two children — a boy and a girl both younger than three — in what her family hoped would be a new start for her. 

Police have charged the 40-year-old father of her children, Jean-Bruno "Berno" Fenelon, with second-degree murder in the homicide.

In a statement to CBC News, Fenelon's lawyer Michael Smith said he's still waiting for police information "about how this situation came to be."

"We are not in a position to make any comments or provide any information in response to the thoughts and comments of Ms. Gabriel's family," Smith said. "My client may wish to do so when the appropriate time is presented and more information becomes available."

Marie's brother David Gabriel thinks Fenelon attacked his sister because she was with someone new, who was starting to care for her and showing he would financially provide for her.

Mimi and Pa is what Marie and David were called as children, he says, and they were close all their lives until Berno entered the picture.

Victim met accused while a teenager: family

In 2017, Marie was just 17 when she met the man who was already in his 30s. Her family had no idea exactly how much older he was, David said.

Over the years, Fenelon began controlling her and manipulating her, he added. She didn't drive, so Marie was dependent on Fenelon for everything.

If she had a job, "it would have to work with his schedule," otherwise Fenelon would force her to quit, David said.

If Fenelon came home for dinner and Marie didn't "fix him a plate and bring it to him," he would leave the house and refuse to eat, David said.

"He isolated her many times." If she showed any inkling of being able to get away, David says Berno would insult her, and manipulate her into believing she was worthless and would die alone.

"She was trapped," her brother believes.

Andy Stone, Marie's father, lives in the United Kingdom. 

His Mimi was born in Gambia. When her parents divorced, Marie and David moved with their mother to the United States and eventually Canada.

Stone lost touch with his children but they eventually reunited, with the ocean still between them, about seven years ago.

"We built a relationship, the three of us. But then I started to learn that my daughter was in a violent relationship, absolute violent relationship with an older man," Stone said.

It became impossible to stay in touch with his daughter when Berno controlled the phone. 

He would "smash up" her phone, and her family would often lose contact with her, they say. Sometimes months later, she would text them from a new number. 

'An ongoing cycle and never changed'

Other times, according to her brother, Berno himself would want to be the conduit for the conversation and demand every message had to go through him first.

"Every three months or so, my daughter's phone number would go dead," Stone said.

Then, out of the blue, she'd appear in their lives again. His daughter was selfless, he said, and did everything for her children.

"It was an ongoing cycle and never changed. Never, ever changed."

But then in October on his birthday, Marie reached out and told her father she needed help and wanted to escape. She asked him to help her get her British passport so she could escape,

"She needed to run away," Stone said. 

In November, she had gone to a shelter.

She ended up leaving there at some point and in December moved into community housing at the Heatherington Road townhouse with her two children. She was working out how to have shared custody with Berno so they continued to interact, her brother said.

"He snuck his way back to her new home," said Norland Tassy, Marie's best friend.

"She gave him another chance."

She would get to the point where she felt strong enough to call the police, have him arrested, and then "time and time again," bail him out or forgive him, her father said.

"We all told her to get away from him, leave him. But like many unfortunate victims of domestic violence, the aggressor, they always isolate them. And they get to control, don't they? Which is what he's done. Nobody knows why," Stone said. "And now this is what we got."

Wanted to give her children the world

Tassy, 24, who has been Marie's friend since they were just girls, says the possibility of a complete family always lured her back. She watched Marie become a woman, have two beautiful children, and now can't believe they won't get to share more.

"She wanted to give [her children] the world. Literally the world," Tassy said.

But as much as she was trying to get out to give her children a better life, she would get sucked back into this cycle of thinking being with him was best for her, Tassy said.

Tassy and Marie met at a party, both entering with strong personalities. It was no surprise they didn't get along at first. But then they got hungry and, as pre-teen girls do, they raided the fridge together and bonded over food.

They checked in with each other every day, multiple Facetime calls.

On Saturday morning, according to Tassy, Marie was ready to kick Berno out. She was done and wanted him gone.

"He just couldn't accept it," Tassy said.

Attempted cover-up, sources say

On Monday morning, paramedics received a 911 call for an unconscious person at the house, reported, according to sources, by Fenelon himself.

Paramedics arrived at the home and saw the woman bleeding from the head and that rigor mortis had already set in. They called police at 9:42 a.m., who immediately called in the homicide unit.

Police believe Fenelon attacked her with a barbell sometime on Saturday morning. Then returned to the house, according to sources, on Monday morning to make it seem like he just found her.

It was a charade, "a heinous game" — including trying to point suspicion at the new man she was dating — he kept up for days, those close to her said.

As soon as family was notified she had been killed, they knew the only suspect was the man they had tried to help her leave for years.

"He's a callous coward," Stone said. "And now he's (allegedly) destroyed many, many lives."

Tassy says her friend was just looking forward to "being free." She wanted to travel — a simple desire for someone who often couldn't even leave the house. 

None of the allegations against Fenelon has yet been tested in court.