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Family members, colleagues and friends of Emilie Maheu met Wednesday night in her hometown of Alexandria, Ontario, to commemorate her life and offer support to her loved ones.
The body of this 26-year-old man was found in a cornfield in South Glengarry, Ontario on October 13th.
His former partner Brandon Smeltzer of the Halifax area was subsequently arrested in New Brunswick and charged with first degree murder.
Suzanne Filion, clinical psychologist and resident in Alexandria, organized the event to bring the community together and show support for the family.
"We are here as a community and we support the family and we hope the message will be clear: they are not alone," said Filion.
A photo of Emilie Maheu was placed on the altar of the Notre-Dame-de-Fatima Cave in Alexandria, Ontario. (Matthew Kupfer / CBC)
Family members spoke briefly on behalf of Maheu's mother and father.
They also thanked the people for the support given to Maheu's 22-month-old daughter.
Raynald Cardinal, who runs the Alexandria chiropractic clinic where Maheu was working, said Wednesday's rally had reaffirmed his "trust in humanity" in a difficult situation.
Richard Quesnel, who was also working at the clinic, was strangled while he was taking the microphone.
"She has always tried to see the best of people," he said, adding that she was eager to learn and show consideration at work.
Filion described Maheu as "a bubbly, beautiful and smiling human being".
Suzanne Filion was one of the organizers of Wednesday night's Eve for Emilie Maheu. (Matthew Kupfer / CBC)
Filion said that the circumstances suggested by the criminal charges brought against Maheu's former partner imply that there must be a dialogue about domestic violence and about the partners.
"We have to talk about it," said Filion.
"We need to do something about it, discuss it and see how we can do it to make our society safer."
She said women in the area needed more support to get out of abusive situations.
"What's missing is the amount of service and an enveloping service," she said.
"This should be a one-stop shop."
Brianna Théorêt gave a tearful tribute to her cousin Émilie Maheu the day before. (Matthew Kupfer / CBC)
Melanie Marcil of Maison Interlude House, who annually serves 400 women as part of her outreach program, attended the vigil to provide support to those present.
"Even though we can not answer all the questions, we can always help someone, support them and give them tools to deal with the situation," she said.
"Together, we can do something, we can be stronger and we can try to do something to [stopping] violence against women ".
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