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Prostitution in Canada Forum
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Elise Stolte
 Feb 23, 08 - 10:21 AM |
Prostitute homicide shocks former detective
JoAnn McCartney was facilitating a women's group at the Fort Saskatchewan jail when news broke that another prostitute's body had been found outside of Edmonton. She found out from the messages left on her cellphone. " 'Oh my God'- that's the first reaction," she said. "That sick feeling in the pit of your stomach." RCMP announced today that the body found beside a Strathcona County driveway on Thursday was that of a 21-year-old woman involved in the sex trade. McCartney is a former Edmonton vice officer who now works with the Prostitution Action and Awareness Foundation of Edmonton. "We assumed that it was a male body (on Thursday). They weren't saying gender but they kept saying 'Project Kare is not involved.' "I was watching the news that night and trying to be the one person in the world that can see a helicopter picture and can tell gender." As for the women on the street, "I don't imagine they know yet," she said. "Generally they're doing their business, leaving and then going and getting high. And that's going to be their reaction. They will go get high. Because that's how they cope with stress." |
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Victoria Handysides
Mar 2nd, 2008 - 12:05 PM |
Re: Prostitute homicide shocks former detective
In the wake of the death of Brianna Torvalson, a known sex-trade worker whose body was discovered in rural Strathcona County last Thursday, residents may want to keep a closer eye on their rural communities, as country roads are a hot-spot for prostitution. “A lot of women are scared to go out of the city right now, but it’s very common for the John to at least try because he’s looking for privacy and anonymity,” said JoAnn McCartney, a 20-year Edmonton Police veteran, who currently works as a counselor for sex trade workers trying to escape dangerous lifestyles. “Out on a country road it can be a lot more private than parking in someone’s back driveway.” McCartney said that as bodies of sex trade workers surface, the fear on the streets grows more and more. She said that the irony is that most of the sex-trade workers she deals with are addicts, and that when an addict becomes afraid, they will mask their fear by using more drugs to eliminate it, forcing them out on to the streets to feed their habit. “The last thing an addict wants to do is feel anything,” she said. “Needing the next fix is 100 times stronger than the fear of going out there. A lot of times when there is a body found, you see more women on the street because they need more drugs to get high so they don’t think about it.” Torvalson’s body was found dumped on the driveway of a rural home on Township Road 524 and Range Road 220 sometime between last Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Relatives admit that the 21-year-old was struggling with trying to escape a life on the street and sex trade, fueled by a cocaine addiction. “People want to get off the streets, but there’s nowhere to go,” McCartney said, adding that in addition to the lack of affordable housing, the wait time to get into most detox programs is usually six weeks or more. Bodies of women have been turning up in Strathcona County since Oct. 1988, when 22-year-old Bernadette Ahenakew was found north of Yellowhead Trail. Since 1975, the bodies of more than two dozen prostitutes have been discovered in the Edmonton area. The trial into the death of two women found in the area began last week. Thomas Svekla has been charged in connection with the 2004 murder of Rachel Quinney and the 2006 murder of Theresa Innes, two sex-trade workers whose bodies were found mutilated in Strathcona County. “There are no established links between this and any other case as yet,” said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes. McCartney agreed, and said that though Svekla is on trial, the most recent discovery confirms that sex-trade workers have every reason to be afraid. “We’ve always maintained that there is more than one person out there killing these women, but it’s not just the Johns they need to be afraid of,” she said. “They live a very violent lifestyle and their world is very violent.” At the time of her death, Torvalson was not registered with Project Kare, an investigation unit created to examine deaths of missing persons found in rural areas. The local rural roads can be used as a place for prostitution and illegal activity. Cpl. Darren Anderson of the Strathcona County RCMP confirmed that the local detachment sometimes receives complaints about illegal activity in the rural areas. Oakes said that residents have a responsibility to keep an eye on their rural communities and should not hesitate to call RCMP when even the slightest detail is out of place. “People living in an area know their community and proverbial own backyard,” Oakes said. “When something is out of place and that little gut reactor starts to turn a little bit, that something is just not right, that’s the opportune time.” Oakes added that residents shouldn’t hesitate to call authorities when they suspect illegal activity is taking place in their areas. “It’s far better to check it out and have it deemed to be nothing than to find out months after the fact that if someone had phoned it in, maybe there would be an early lead on this investigation.” Investigators rely heavily on tips from the public when trying to solve murder cases. “Tips are invaluable,” Oakes said. “No matter how big or small, every tip is important.” To report suspicious activity in your area, or to provide information about Torvalson’s death, contact the Strathcona County RCMP detachment at 467-7749 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. |
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