Woman found dead on Edmonton riverbank remembered as kind-hearted mother
Wallis Snowdon | CBC News | Posted: January 6, 2025 2:02 PM | Last Updated: 12 hours ago
Ashley Burke, 43, was victim of intimate partner violence, police say
Warning: This story contains details of intimate partner violence and may affect those who've experienced or been impacted by it.
A 43-year-old Edmonton woman found dead along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River is being remembered as a caring, kind-hearted mother.
Ashley Burke was found dead on Dec. 30, east of the Quesnell Bridge near Whitemud Park on the riverbank in southwest Edmonton.
Homicide detectives say her death was the result of intimate partner violence. Daniel Boothman, 31, has been charged with second-degree murder in her death.
Abigail Michele Robson said she is still coming to grips with the cruel circumstances of her mother's death.
Robson said she spoke with her mom almost every day and she keeps expecting to hear the phone ring to hear her voice.
"My mom was invincible. She was so strong," Robson said. "It still doesn't feel real at all."
Robson, 20, said her mother was selfless with a characteristic East Coast charm that made her fast friends with the strangers she served at her waitressing jobs over the years.
"She was just a very kind, strong woman who would do anything for anybody," Robson said in an interview Monday.
"No matter what situation she was in, she would drop everything to help somebody else.
"She would give you, like, the shirt off of her back."
'My best friend'
Robson said Burke lived in Edmonton but enjoyed a happy upbringing in the sleepy town of Pictou on the scenic North Shore of Nova Scotia.
She worked at a local pizza spot there for years but made the move to Alberta about a decade ago, Robson said.
Burke had hoped the move out west would provide a fresh start and give her daughter better opportunities in her early education.
WATCH | Ashley Burke's daughter speaks out:
As Robson grew older, the bond between mother and daughter only grew closer.
"It was just me and my mom against everything," Robson said. "Especially in the last few years, she became like my best friend.
"As I got a little bit older and I realized more of the struggles she went through, I was able to have more compassion for her and I got to know her a lot."
Robson said her mother had an easy kindness. But behind her bright smile, something painful often pulled her under.
Burke struggled with substance use issues that had worsened in recent years, Robson said.
But she had been working hard to stay clean and start over, with help from her daughter.
"She did her best with the situation she was given," Robson said.
"I don't want her to be defined by these actions and these life events because it's not who she was."
"Despite her flaws, she did the best she could with what she was given. And she was a very good mother to me."
Police said an autopsy has been completed on Burke's remains but they will continue to withhold the cause of death for investigative purposes.
Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact police.
As the family awaits answers on the investigation, Robson said she hopes her mother's death helps raise awareness about the dangers domestic violence victims face — and the elevated rates of intimate partner violence in Alberta.
"People shouldn't be afraid to ask for help. There is nothing to be ashamed about," she said.
Robson said funeral arrangements are still being made but her mother's remains will be laid to rest in the family plot in Pictou. Many relatives have flown in from Nova Scotia this week to bring her home.
Robson wishes she could hug her mother one more time but felt grateful she's had the chance to say goodbye.
"I just got home from the funeral home today. I got to see her one last time."
She pored through her mother's belongings on Tuesday — a ceramic cross, bundles of birthday cards, a bottle of pink perfume. It brought back one of her favourite memories of her mother, a Christmas morning three years ago.
They were surprised to see that their gifts to each other were identical: a bracelet with an infinity symbol charm, matching a tattoo Burke had on her wrist.
Robson now plans to get the same tattoo. She said the infinity symbol carried a special meaning for both of them that she now wants to carry with her, that their bond could not be broken.
"It meant that me and mom would be together forever," she said.
"It was always me and mom against the world."
For anyone affected by family or intimate partner violence, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services such as 211 Alberta or the Connect Line. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.