‘Beautiful soul’: Mother of homicide victim remembers her daughter as kind, loving, empathetic

“She just wanted everyone happy,” said Jodi Dunn.

The mother of homicide victim Aylissa Rovere is remembering her beloved daughter as a kind, empathetic woman.

Someone who loved her two now teenaged children more than anything.

“Beautiful soul,“ said Dunn. “She would come over and do silly moves around the house, just to get you to laugh.”

“Very empathetic,” she added. “And I think that kind of what got her in trouble.“

Aylissa was in a relationship with the man now charged in her second degree murder. A relationship the victim’s mother describes as abusive.

“I would beg her ‘please don’t go near him’,” she said.

This murder leaves domestic violence advocates heartbroken. Hoping the public can take a moment the learn about the realities of domestic violence — saying there is an ongoing crisis in Alberta, with a rise in the number of those needing to reach out for help.

Aylissa Rovere was last seen alive Sept. 6th.

Police saying, the missing persons case was quickly turned over to the homicide unit — finding Aylissa dead after executing a search warrant in Parkland County last weekend.

34-year old Collin Boucher Gionet is charged with second degree murder and indignity to a body.

“In fact the week that she went missing, she phoned me having an anxiety attack and she said ‘mommy can you calm me down,’ she had severe anxiety,” explained Dunn. “I calmed her down and made her promise ‘please please don’t see him ever again’.”

“Statistics show it takes a person experience domestic violence around seven times before they’ll actually leave,” said Christine Moore, board chair of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation.”

“I’m a survivor of domestic violence myself,” she added. “I’m telling you, I had people tell me all the time, ‘why didn’t you just leave?’ it’s not that easy.”

“There are so many different factors.”

Moore says those looking to leave an abusive domestic relationship often need to grapple with different factors.

Potentially faced with emotional control, or when their abuser controls their finances.

And too often women’s shelters are full, but Moore doesn’t believe building more spaces alone is the answer.

“Shelters is not the answer breaking the cycle,” said Moore. “And really, I just call on everyone to really recognize that we cannot remain complacent.”

“That we need to assess ourselves,” she added. “We need to support our neighbors.”

Hoping the community can surround Aylissa Rovere’s family with compassion.

Dunn telling CityNews she’s praying for justice as she continues to feel connections to her youngest daughter.

“There was the brightest rainbow,” she said. “And then a double rainbow started happening over it.”

“So we believe that was her,” she added. “That’s what we said to the kids, that’s you mom.”

Studies estimate one in seven Canadian women have experience intimate partner violence.

If you or anyone you know are dealing with abuse, reach out — the following are some Alberta crisis lines:

• ACWS.CA — 1-866-331-3933
• jessicamartelmemorialfoundation.com — 1-866-939-2850