Statement written by Colleen Sillitos family

This week we lost our mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. Colleen shone
brightly in this world. Her depth of presence can be sensed in the open, authentic
expressions of people she photographed. She adored her five children and
supported them to be authentic, creative, and loving. As our sister, she was the one
we called when we had any kind of news or needed adviceColleen was instantly
interested and attentive. Photography was her livelihood but she was also a
videographer, potter, cellist, a childrens art teacher, and a yoga teacher. She loved
rock climbing and CrossFit and new challenges. She made the world more
beautiful, more intelligent, more courageous.
We are heartbroken by her tragic and violent death. And we are filled with
questions about how such a horror could happen. More than anything now, we
hope her death can help others. We hope other women will not have to lose their
lives so needlessly and other children will not have to lose their mothers so
horribly. We hope that her death is not something that fades from the public mind
once it has passed through the news cycle.
Colleen was a victim of a series of escalating threats and violence. She obtained a
Peace Bond and contacted the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP many times when the
bond was violated.
Colleens tragic death underscores the urgent need for the Alberta government to
act. Alberta leads the country in the number of domestic violence homicides and
homicide-suicides. Our family calls upon the Alberta government, Shannon
Phillips, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women and Kathleen Ganley,
Minister of Justice and Solicitor General to address the urgent need to hold public
inquiries into domestic violence homicides and homicide-suicides. We will be
requesting that the government convene a public inquiry to examine the
circumstances under which Colleens tragic death occurred and the urgent need for
informed intervention to prevent domestic violence deaths in the future.
We will always remember how Colleen made us feel: the dignity of being
human. Please let her, let us, have the dignity that comes with truth.