'My heart aches for her children': Aunt remembers homicide victim Jessica Cameron
Guy Quenneville | CBC News | Posted: July 8, 2019 5:22 PM | Last Updated: July 8, 2019
Cameron's partner, Jamie Smallchild, charged with 2nd-degree murder in her death
A man charged with the murder of his domestic partner made his first court appearance in Saskatoon Monday morning.
Jamie Smallchild, 25, was charged Sunday by the RCMP with second-degree murder in the death of Jessica Cameron, 33.
Several members of Cameron's family, including her aunt Berni Thomas, watched Smallchild from the public gallery in Saskatoon provincial court Monday morning.
Cameron was a mother of seven children, Thomas said outside the courthouse.
"She's very loved and very missed," she said. "My heart aches for her children."
Thomas said she also knows Smallchild.
"We're a community," Thomas said. "We're all a family. I'm related to Jamie too. So this is hard."
She said Cameron's family wanted Smallchild to see them there.
"I wanted Jamie to see we're here for her. We're her voice now," Thomas said.
What police have said so far
Police have given a brief account of the investigation leading up to Smallchild's arrest.
Early Saturday morning, Rosthern RCMP members found a green minivan in the woods near Beardy's First Nation, located about 90 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. The minivan had minor front-end damage on it.
Smallchild and Cameron were in the driver and passenger seats, respectively. Cameron was pronounced dead at the scene, while Smallchild had only minor injuries.
"Police officers observed inconsistencies between the injuries sustained by the occupants of the vehicle and the damage on the minivan," according to the RCMP press release.
Officers charged Smallchild with murder on Sunday.
Smallchild will next appear in court on July 23.
A forensic pathologist is expected to conduct an autopsy on Cameron later this week.