The rain in Calgary had just stopped as about 300 friends, family members and even strangers gathered to remember five-year-old Taliyah Marsman and her mother Sara Baillie at Sandstone Park Sunday night.
The mother and daughter were murdered in Calgary earlier this week.
Dozens of people filled the northwest park carrying umbrellas and candles while children were blowing bubbles at the vigil.
“We wanted to celebrate with bubbles,” Jenn Vonavka, who went to school with Baillie and helped organize the vigil, said. “They float, they are happy, (and) they represent (the) joy in children that Taliyah had.”
All the children in the crowd gathered to hold sparklers.
The search for Taliyah Leigh Marsman, the subject of an Alberta-wide Amber Alert, came to a heartbreaking end Thursday after Calgary police found her body. The discovery shattered her family, the community and police officers involved in the investigation.
Calgary police charged 46-year-old Edward Delten Downey with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with their deaths.
“It’s not fair and I can’t wrap my head around it,” Vonavka said. “And that was a beautiful little girl and she deserves so much more than that.”
“All we can do now is just pray that there is justice served and nobody has to go through this because this is not anything I would wish on my worst enemy – this is horrific.”
READ MORE: Body of Taliyah Marsman found, Edward Downey charged with first degree murder
At Sunday’s vigil, a bottle of champagne was opened in memory of Baillie and many people repeated out loud ‘we love you baby girl’ when thinking about Taliyah.
READ MORE: Who is Edward Downey? Man charged with first degree murder in Taliyah Marsman’s death
Many of the people gathered at the vigil did not personally know Baillie or Marsman, but said they felt compelled to come and show their support for the victims’ families and the community.
“We will love this family and this community back to healing and we will love them back to strength but we are all hurt,” Thomas O’Toole said. “When one of our community members – especially our women and children – are treated in such cruel ways, we all hurt.”
-With files from Carolyn Kury de Castillo and Phil Heidenreich.
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