C.B.S. shooting victims remembered on 1-year anniversary

It's been one year since Juliane Hibbs and her fianc Vince Dillon were shot and killed by a man who was angry Hibbs hadleft him, and friends and family are remembering the victims on the first anniversary of their death.

Hibbs and her fiancDillon were shot and killed inside a clinic at Villa Nova Plaza in Conception Bay South on the evening of Oct. 15, 2013.

• 2 dead in shooting at Villa Nova Plaza in Conception Bay South
• Double murder-suicide rattles Newfoundland town

The shooter was Brian Dawe, Hibbs' former boyfriend. Dawe later drove to the Anglican Cemetery on Kenmount Road in nearby Mount Pearl, where he killed himself.

On Wednesday, Shane Morgan was visiting Hibbs' grave in C.B.S. Morgan said he made plans to go see a movie with Hibbs on the day she was shot.

Now, Morgan said he's remembering the good times he had with his friend.

"Smiling, always not a care in the world. She was one of the sweetest, most kindhearted individuals I ever met in my life," he said.

"It's just a senseless act that this happened to her. I'm still in denial, even though it happened a year ago today."

We lost five women in this province last year. That to me is a very startling number in a province this size.- Connie Pike

Morgan said hekept the last emails Hibbs sent him for months following her death, but finally deleted them because they were too painful to read.

"She actually wrote me on October 12 around 2:30, I remember vividly for some reason, and she said, 'I'm a bit busy this weekend but don't worry, I'll be getting a hold of you on Tuesday or Wednesday the following week,' and she said, 'Take care hun xoxo.'"

'Shock and horror'

The double-murder suicide prompted Connie Pike to reconnect with the family she helped almost 20 years ago when she was an officer with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

Pike said she first made contact with the Hibbs family in 1996, when she tried to help the family get their daughter out of an abusive relationship with the man who would later kill her.

"The shock and horror a year ago today, the disbelief, the senselessness I guess there are not enough adjectives to describe how bizarre it was. But yet not bizarre, because it's not the first time it's happened here and it certainly won't be the last, unfortunately," said Pike.

Since the shooting on Oct. 15, 2013, the RNC has received 2,151 calls for help in what it calls relationshipviolence cases an average of five or six calls a day.

The RCMP keeps statistics on whether a crime is committed, and over the past year have documented 1,250 cases of domestic violence.

According to statistics from the RCMP, most victims are assaulted by a current boyfriend,girlfriend or spouse.

Pike said it's a important part of the story to get the word out and let people in the province know this kind of violence does happen in Newfoundland and Labrador communities.

"This type of violence does happen here. We lost five women in this province last year. That to me is a very startling number in a province this size," she said.

"We're fortunate not to see crimes of this extreme on a regular basis, but there are women in this province every single day who are seeking help."

Pike added conversations about violence need to be more focused on how to teach young men not to be abusive, rather than teaching young women how to leave an abusive relationship.

Remembering the victims

Hibbs' parents hope their daughter's death draws attention to issues surrounding domestic violence, but today they're too upset to talk.

Shane Morgan said while it's painful to remember what happened to his friend, being at her grave brings him comfort.

"This is actually the first time I got to see the headstone. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The illustration, actually, on the front of the headstone is from the day of her funeral. There was a rainbow while she was being buried, and it put a lot of people it really just took their breath away saying, 'Wow, that must be a sign from her.'"

The Hibbs family will hold a celebration of Juliane's life at St. John the Evangelist Church in Topsail this Sunday. They'll also remember other women who lost their lives because of domestic violence.