Ruth Lloyd
Black Press
A murder victim’s family is calling for more protection for the vulnerable women in our society.
Relatives of Cynthia Maas, one of the women 21-year-old Cody Alan Legebokoff is charged with killing, are asking for government to focus on strengthening the human rights of women.
In a statement released on Monday, October 17, the family asks journalists to not focus on Cynthia Maas’ lifestyle or gender, but instead on her brutal murder, and hopefully therefore help to prevent further injustices against vulnerable women in society.
The family describes Mass as a “victim of disability, ethnicity, class, gender ... she is a poster child for vulnerability in our society.”
They then ask for better services for victims of violence, sufferers of mental health issues and addictions.
The family also questions the portrayal of many women who are victims of violence, saying the women are shown as “deserving of death.”
“Cindy had a right to live, to overcome her struggles, to become strong and to be the mother she wanted to be,” said the family.
Cynthia Mass was reported missing on September 23, 2010, and her body was found on October 9, 2010 in LC Gun Park in Prince George.
Maas leaves behind two young children.
Cody Alan Legebokoff was stopped thanks to an alert Fort St. James RCMP member who pulled Legebokoff over when he saw the young man pulling out of an unused logging road at night. A search resulting from the officer’s interaction with Legebokoff resulted in the discovery of 15-year-old Loren Donn Leslie’s body half a kilometre up the road by local Conservation Officer Cam Hill.
Legebokoff was subsequently charged with the teen’s murder, and has been in custody ever since.
On Monday, October 17, the RCMP announced they have linked Legebokoff to three other missing and murdered women in the Prince George area, and he is now being charged with those crimes as well.
Legebokoff now faces four counts of first degree murder for the deaths of Cynthia Maas, 35, Jill Stacey Stachenko, 35, Natasha Lynn Montgomery, 23 and Loren Donn Leslie, 15.
The RCMP are continuing to investigate Legebokoff’s activities over the past few years, and are especially interested in the time period between October 2009 and November 2010.
Legebokoff may have used social networking sites to make contact with women, and anyone with any information should contact the RCMP via their tip line especially for the case: 1-877-987-TIPS (8477).