'We're bringing Ashley back,' mother says at memorial walk 1 year after 28-year-old's death

WARNING: This story contains details of violence against Indigenous women.

Almost a year after a First Nations woman was killed in downtown Winnipeg, her family and loved ones held a memorial walk on Tuesday to honour her life and bring her spirit back to the support centre where she felt most at home. 

They gathered at Central Park on Tuesday afternoon to remember 28-year-old Ashley Isabella Murdock, who was from Fisher River and Jackhead First Nation.

They drummed, sang and gave speeches there while holding signs that read "For Ashley" and "In Honour of Ashley Murdock," before walking to the Wahbung Abinoonjiiag Inc. support service and healing centre on Dufferin Avenue. 

"I want to bring her back to Wahbung, where that was her safe place. That was her home there. That's why I'm doing this walk," said Deidra Telenko Murdock, Ashley's mother. 

"We're bringing Ashley back to Wahbung. She's going to say 'Finally, I'm here." 

Murdock's body was found at an apartment block on Kennedy Street between Ellice and Qu'Appelle avenues on July 5, 2024 — a day before her birthday. Homicide investigators said she was killed in a different location and her body was later moved to Kennedy Street. 

She had been reported missing two days before her body was found. She had not been in contact with family or community members since June 26.

Seven people were arrested and charged in connection with her death, Winnipeg police confirmed Tuesday.

Two people have been sentenced, while three others are still before the court. Charges against one person have been stayed.

Along the walk through downtown Winnipeg, Murdock's family stopped at two apartment buildings — one on Edmonton Street, where she was believed to have been killed, and the Kennedy Street complex where her body was found. 

At the buildings, the group drummed, sang songs and called out her spirit name: South Buffalo Calf Woman.

"When I looked at that building, I thought, 'It's time for you to come, my girl,'" her mother said after the group reached Wahbung Abinoonjiiag for a celebration of life ceremony. 

"I knew she was already gone, but I just felt that that horrible crime that happened there, she just had to be brought back to her safe place here."

She said her daughter was a fighter who had the loudest laugh in the room. 

Telenko Murdock also said she won't stop fighting until her daughter gets justice, and she's working to raise awareness so that other grieving families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls get the support they need. 

"It's been one year, and I'm still trying to figure out how to navigate this whole system. There's nothing," she said, adding the lack of financial and systemic support for families makes it hard to heal. 

"I'm asking for supports for the families that are left behind."

1-year memorial walk held for Ashley Murdock

1 day ago

Duration 1:31

Family, friends, and supporters gathered and walked Tuesday to honour Ashley Murdock, whose body was found in a Winnipeg apartment building on July 5, 2024. Murdock, originally from Fisher River and Jackhead First Nation, was 28 when she died. Seven people were arrested in connection with her death.

Support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate emotional assistance and crisis support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.

You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.