Norma-Jean Muirhead identified by family as victim in Cranston homicide

A young mother of two has been identified by her family as the victim of a homicide in a southeast Calgary neighbourhood.

The family has identified her as Norma-Jean Muirhead, and said she’d recently relocated to Calgary after living in Trail, B.C. to be closer to her two children.

“She was my first born. I was young when I had her and she was my whole life,” Norma-Jean’s mother, Theresa Muirhead, told Global News. “She has two children. They need their mother.”

The 35 year old was reported missing by a friend on Tuesday night and her family said they received confirmation on Thursday night that police were investigating her disappearance.

“There’s people that know stuff. There’s people out there that must have seen her,” Theresa said.

Calgary police were called to the 500 block of Cranston Drive S.E shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday after someone reported a “medical event.”

According to a statement from police, officers found a woman in a parked vehicle who appeared to be unconscious and unresponsive.

EMS pronounced the woman deceased on scene.

Following an autopsy, CPS has confirmed her death is being investigated as a homicide, and that Muirhead was targeted.

“We believe this homicide took place in the victim’s vehicle which was parked in a residential community and someone may have seen the events leading up to, or right after, the victim’s death,” said Staff Sergeant Lee Treit with the Calgary Police Service Homicide Unit. “We are asking anyone who may have seen suspicious behaviour or witnessed a disturbance in the area between midnight and 6 a.m., on Wednesday, Dec. 1, to contact police.”

The homicide unit has been called in to investigate the circumstances around Muirhead’s death.

“We need to know what happened. We need to find the person who did this or the people who did this,” Theresa said. “This was done on purpose.”

Theresa is pleading with the public for anyone with information about what may have happened to her daughter or anybody possibly involved to come forward.

“What if it’s your daughter? What if it’s your sister? You’d want somebody to come forward. No family deserves this,” Theresa said. “It’s not right… justice needs to be done.”

Investigators are asking anyone with information about what happened or who saw any “suspicious activity in the area in the early hours of Dec. 2,” to call the Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers.