A mass of people gathered in the Grand Parade in Halifax, N.S., on Friday afternoon to honour the memory of an Indigenous teen from Manitoba.
The vigil was held to call for justice for Tina Fontaine, 15, after a jury found Raymond Cormier not guilty of second-degree murder in her death.
The organizer opened the ceremony with a prayer.
“I pray for the lives of Indigenous people who don’t seem to matter,” the prayer read.
READ MORE: Raymond Cormier found not guilty in death of Tina Fontaine
The 15-year-old girl’s body was pulled from the Red River on Aug. 17, 2014, wrapped inside a duvet cover and weighted down with rocks.
After a more-than-three-week trial, the jury started deliberating on Wednesday afternoon.
The 11-person jury heard from nearly 50 witnesses before closing arguments on Tuesday. Cormier never took the stand and his defence team did not call any witnesses.
The largely circumstantial case relied heavily on a series of audio recordings made by police over a six-month undercover operation dubbed “Project Styx.”
The project, which ran from June to December 2015, involved undercover police officers and “bugs” that were placed inside Cormier’s Winnipeg apartment suite.
In a number of those recordings, Cormier spoke about having sex with Fontaine, who was a minor, and talked about “finishing the job,” the court heard.
WATCH: Call for calm from the family of Tina Fontaine following Cormier verdict
However, Cormier has maintained his innocence since he was arrested.
Cormier has been in jail since he was charged in December 2015.
The Crown has yet to decide if there are grounds for an appeal.
— With files from Brittany Greenslade and Alexa MacLean
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