On the anniversary of a toddler found dead at a daycare just north Cobourg, Ont., residents held a rally on Saturday demanding answers from officials.
Northumberland OPP say on May 25, 2023, a girl was found dead after she was reported missing from an “address in Hamilton Township.” Witnesses say the body of girl was found inside a septic tank on the property of the Watch Me Grow Daycare in the hamlet of Baltimore.
Family and friends have identified the girl as two-year-old Vienna Rose Irwin.
OPP on Friday issued a brief statement saying the girl’s death remains under investigation. To date no charges have been laid. No other details have been provided on the investigation.
And the approximately 100 residents who rallied Saturday say that’s inadequate. Lined along Division Street, many held signs with butterflies that read “#JusticeForVienna” as drivers passing by honked the horns of their vehicles in support.
“Many of us who are parents have put our kids in daycare, having trusted people with our kids, our hearts walking outside of us,” said supporter Lindsay Cox. “It could have been me. It could have been my friend. It could have been anyone that day.”
Vanessa Stadeke and Heath Field, friends of Vienna’s parents, say the community needs an explanation into the toddler’s death to help recover.
“Saying her name is really hard because she deserved so much more,” Field said. “She was beautiful. She was this fragile little thing.”
Along with grief, they say there’s anger about the entire incident.
“Neglect is one thing. This far surpasses what happened to Vienna,” Field said.
Added Stadeke: “A little child doesn’t just end up in a septic tank.”
On her Instagram account, Claire Irwin, Vienna’s mother, said on Sunday that her daughter’s death has been a “nightmare that never ends.”
“One of the many hard things is trying to figure out who we are now without you,” Irwin said. “And missing who we use to be. Add on the compounded trauma of how you were taken from us is an added layer.”
Field and Stadeke said the lack of information from investigators has led to many false rumours within the community, including that the incident was deemed an accident or that the investigation was concluded.
“That’s a huge thing that hasn’t helped the parents through this,” Field said.
The “Justice for Vienna” movement has spread to neighbouring communities where butterfly murals painted by Cox can be found in the windows of businesses.
“Somebody out there knows an answer, something, information that they haven’t come forward with,” Cox said.
Irwin in her post thanked the community and friends for their support over the past year, stating, “We need you more than you know.”
Field said they’ll keep fighting for Vienna.
“The truth will come out and justice will be served,” she said. “And until it does, this is what we’re going to keep doing.”
— with files from Germain Ma/Global News Peterborough