EDMONTON- The family of a Spruce Grove teacher who was murdered two years ago is asking the public not to give up on her.
On October 13, 2011, 36-year-old Jolene Cote was found dead in her home, northeast of Spruce Grove, near the Edmonton Springs Golf course. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of her death was never revealed.
Just two days ahead of the second anniversary of her death, Cote’s family and friends took to the streets of Spruce Grove Friday evening, handing out posters in hopes of once again bringing her unsolved murder to the front of people’s minds.
The group will be handing out posters in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Edmonton over the Thanksgiving weekend, a time Cote’s sister says is particularly hard for her family.
“This weekend we will be gathering as a family to remember Jolene. It will be on Thanksgiving day, October 13. Jolene was always the one who organized our annual family Thanksgiving and her absence will be very difficult for us. The last time a lot of us saw her was at Thanksgiving 2011,” said Rhonda Berg.
“It’s always hard, but at this time of the year… it really does add to the emotion, it makes it really, really hard. This is Thanksgiving weekend. She played a big role in making the family gathering really special for everybody and I just miss her every single day,” added Cote’s mother Dorothy Commandeur.
Commandeur says RCMP have not released any new information, but have reassured her family that it is a very active investigation and remains a priority with the major crimes unit.
“We’re confident that the RCMP are working really hard. We meet with them regularly and I have confidence. I know that they need to take whatever time it takes in order to get all of the information they need.
“We keep hoping that somebody is going to look at those pictures, think about the story and come forward with some information that’s going to make a difference.”
There is a $50,000 reward in place for anyone with information that leads to an arrest in Cote’s murder.