LETHBRIDGE – Friends and family of 56-year-old Francis Candice Little Light gathered outside her Lethbridge apartment Tuesday afternoon to hold a vigil for the slain woman, just hours after police ruled her death a homicide.
Around 5:15 p.m. Sunday, officers were dispatched to a 911 call of a seriously-injured female at an apartment on Columbia Boulevard. They arrived to find Little Light and police say her injuries quickly turned fatal.
On Tuesday, police ruled Little Lights’ death a homicide, the city’s second of 2016.
WATCH: Columbia Blvd. death ruled a homicide: police
“She had a heart of gold for everybody,” Little Lights foster sister Flora Royal said Tuesday afternoon. “She let people in her home, she had a degree, she went to university. She was a mother, a grandmother, sister, friend – she’s going to be really missed.”
Loved ones held candles and each other for support as they mourned the loss of Little Light. Her uncle, Sidney Black, heard the news of her death on the radio and said it’s another tragic loss in their community.
“From our family, she was much loved and just to hear of her sudden passing, (it) goes without saying, has been a big shock for us,” Black said.
Royal said it has been a rough time for Little Light’s family as they had buried her father only one month ago. She said when she heard what had happened to her foster sister, she was in complete shock.
“It’s just ironic… we’re going to a two-day event in Calgary for missing and murdered aboriginals and then this happens to our beloved Candie,” Royal said.
The family is urging whoever is responsible for Little Lights’ murder to turn themselves in to police so the family can gain closure and start the long, difficult road to healing.
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