The woman killed on Bethune Avenue in Saanich Wednesday morning was homeless and struggling with alcohol addiction, her mother said Friday.
Stephanie Jade Elk was the mother of two daughters and the girlfriend of Christopher Cathcart, who is now charged with her murder.
“Jade was my one and only daughter and she was beautiful inside and out. She was a model,” said Judy Elk.
“She was always thinking of others, supportive and helpful. She loved her children. She loved her little girls. She told them that every time she saw them.”
Jade grew up in Brandon, Manitoba before moving to Victoria. Her mother soon followed.
“She wanted me to come and help her with her girls,” said Elk, who is caring for her granddaughters, ages 16 and three. “I’m blessed to be able to take care of my grandchildren.”
Elk said she wasn’t sure where her daughter was living because they hadn’t spoken for two months. She and some of Jade’s friends are planning to hold a candlelight vigil next week.
Cathcart, 36, who has no fixed address, appeared in court Friday by video from the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Island Regional Correctional Centre.
A publication ban was placed on the proceedings. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 27.
On his Facebook page, Cathcart describes being homeless and not being able to pay for veterinary care for his dog, which was injured in a hit and run. He describes having to pull his belongings in a cart and not being able to afford to eat for three days.
Although there is only one murder charge before the courts, Saanich police are investigating a second murder, at a second crime scene, which also took place Wednesday morning.
Officers combed Rutledge Park and Bethune Park, and looked through the grass on a wooded hilltop median at Blanshard Street and Saanich Road.
At the courthouse Friday, a woman told the Times Colonist that her brother William Bradshaw had been murdered. She repeatedly asked the sheriffs why no one had been charged with her brother’s murder.
On Thursday evening, Saanich Police Det. Sgt Damian Kowalwhich said investigators are “satisfied that the two homicides had no connection to any of the residents of this neighbourhood, and that the occupants of the residence connected to the investigation were not involved in this tragic incident.”
Saanich Police Chief Dean Duthie said officers “controlled the threat in a very quick, effective and safe manner.”
The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Island Integrated Major Crime Unit is involved in the investigation.
