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

Lauren Scott · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 24, 2025 8:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

WARNING: This communicative contains details of unit against Indigenous women.

Almost a twelvemonth aft a First Nations pistillate was killed successful downtown Winnipeg, her household and loved ones held a memorial locomotion connected Tuesday to honour her beingness and bring her tone backmost to the enactment centre wherever she felt astir astatine home. 

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

They drummed, sang and gave speeches determination portion holding signs that work "For Ashley" and "In Honour of Ashley Murdock," earlier walking to the Wahbung Abinoonjiiag Inc. enactment work and healing centre connected Dufferin Avenue. 

"I privation to bring her backmost to Wahbung, wherever that was her harmless place. That was her location there. That's wherefore I'm doing this walk," said Deidra Telenko Murdock, Ashley's mother. 

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

Murdock's assemblage was recovered astatine an flat artifact connected Kennedy Street betwixt Ellice and Qu'Appelle avenues connected July 5, 2024 — a time earlier her birthday. Homicide investigators said she was killed successful a antithetic determination and her assemblage was aboriginal moved to Kennedy Street. 

She had been reported missing 2 days earlier her assemblage was found. She had not been successful interaction with household oregon assemblage members since June 26.

Seven radical were arrested and charged successful transportation with her death, Winnipeg constabulary confirmed Tuesday.

Two radical person been sentenced, portion 3 others are inactive earlier the court. Charges against 1 idiosyncratic person been stayed.

Along the locomotion done downtown Winnipeg, Murdock's household stopped astatine 2 flat buildings — 1 connected Edmonton Street, wherever she was believed to person been killed, and the Kennedy Street analyzable wherever her assemblage was found. 

At the buildings, the radical drummed, sang songs and called retired her tone name: South Buffalo Calf Woman.

"When I looked astatine that building, I thought, 'It's clip for you to come, my girl,'" her parent said aft the group reached Wahbung Abinoonjiiag for a solemnisation of beingness ceremony. 

"I knew she was already gone, but I conscionable felt that that horrible transgression that happened there, she conscionable had to beryllium brought backmost to her harmless spot here."

She said her girl was a combatant who had the loudest laughter successful the room. 

Telenko Murdock also said she won't halt warring until her girl gets justice, and she's moving to rise consciousness truthful that different grieving families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls get the enactment they need. 

"It's been 1 year, and I'm inactive trying to fig retired however to navigate this full system. There's nothing," she said, adding the deficiency of fiscal and systemic enactment for families makes it hard to heal. 

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

Support is disposable for anyone affected by these reports and the contented of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate affectional assistance and situation enactment are disposable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week done a nationalist hotline astatine 1-844-413-6649.

You tin besides access, done the authorities of Canada, health enactment services such arsenic intelligence wellness counselling, community-based enactment and taste services, and immoderate question costs to spot elders and accepted healers. Family members seeking accusation astir a missing oregon murdered loved 1 tin access Family Information Liaison Units.