Charlottetown unveils memorial for murder victims
Mayor says whole nation felt the loss
CBC News
Posted: Sep 2, 2012 5:07 PM MT
Last Updated: Sep 2, 2012 5:27 PM MT
The memorial honours Mitch MacLean and Tanner Craswell. (CBC)
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More than eight months after two Prince Edward Island baseball players were killed in a multiple murder-suicide in Alberta, the City of Charlottetown unveiled a new monument to honour the men.
At Memorial Field in Victoria Park, the same baseball diamond where Mitch MacLean and Tanner Craswell honed their skills, hundreds of friends and family paid tribute to the two men on Sunday afternoon as the city unveiled a large stone with plaques bearing images of the pair.
Mitch's mother, Dianne MacLean, said she has seen many good things since she lost her son.
"They say that out of tragedy come many good things. And we have witnessed that time and time again since the boys were taken from us in such a senseless way," she said.
MacLean, from Cornwall, and Craswell, from Charlottetown, were shot and killed in December 2011 on the side of a road near Claresholm, Alta. The two had moved to Alberta to play baseball.
The shooter, Derek Jensen, also killed one woman in the incident before turning the gun on himself. Jensen was an ex-boyfriend of one of the two female victims, Tabitha Stepple. That connection lead police to conclude the killings related to a domestic dispute.
An outpouring of support at home and across the country followed the killings. The victims were honoured at the Blue Jays home opener this spring.
Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said it wasn't just the Island that felt the loss of the young men.
"People in other parts of Canada, I can tell you, were as touched and hurt by that incident as we were here on P.E.I. And it shows you what Canadians are truly made of," he said.
Tanner's father, Keith Craswell, said all the support is well appreciated. "Our Island family has been so loving and supportive over the last eight-and-a-half months. And we will treasure that forever," he said.
"From the Craswell family and the MacLean family, thank you very much."
After the ceremony, friends and family celebrated with a game of baseball.
Corrections and Clarifications
- This story previously reported an incorrect location for the scene of the murder. Sep. 4, 2012|10:32 a.m. AT
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