Melanie Carpenter (April 22, 1971 – January 6, 1995)[1] was a Canadian 23-year-old woman who was abducted and murdered in British Columbia, on January 6, 1995.[2] Carpenter was taken from her workplace in Surrey and found dead in the Fraser Canyon several weeks later. The prime suspect, Fernand Auger, committed suicide before he could be arrested.[3][4][5][6]
Melanie Carpenter | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 22, 1971 British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | January 6, 1995 (aged 23) British Columbia, Canada |
| Body discovered | January 26, 1995 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | being kidnapped and murdered |
| Parents |
|
Disappearance
editOn January 6, 1995, Melanie Carpenter, a 23-year-old woman from Surrey, British Columbia,[7] had received suspicious phone calls from a man feigning interest in a business deal. Later that day, Carpenter was abducted from where she was working alone at a tanning salon in the Fleetwood town centre of Surrey.[8]
Investigation
editThe afternoon that Carpenter went missing, a bank security camera recorded a 37-year-old man, Fernand Auger, making a $300 withdrawal using Carpenter's debit card, and the footage was shown on national TV the next day. Auger was a drifter from Ontario, frequently working as a waiter in restaurants, and had been a resident of Calgary, Alberta, until moving to British Columbia days before the murder. In August 1994, Auger had been released from prison in Bowden, Alberta, where he had served a 16-month sentence for armed robbery, and was on parole at the time. Auger quickly became the number one suspect in the abduction, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.[9]
On January 15, 1995, Auger was found dead at a vacant home in High River, Alberta, 55 kilometers (34 mi) south of Calgary, by a real estate agent during a viewing with a client. Auger had committed suicide in a garage on the property by inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from the engine of his car, a Hyundai Excel rented from Calgary.[10]
Carpenter's corpse was found shortly afterwards along an isolated road in a First Nations reserve near Hope, a rural town in British Columbia's Fraser Canyon, 45 kilometers (28 mi) northeast of Chilliwack. Carpenter's body had been abandoned in a crevice and concealed by a white blanket.[11]
Aftermath
editIn 1995, the Melanie Carpenter Foundation was established to create a memorial for Carpenter.[12] After her death, Carpenter's father formed a petition to keep murderers in prison as speeches were made, petitions were signed and rallies were held in protest against Canada's parole system.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Melanie Carpenter". Heyyitsjen. 2019-05-05. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
- ^ "Canada's Daughter | Althea Thauberger". Althea Thauberger. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ^ Zytaruk, Tom. "SURREY MURDER: Here we go again — cases like Serena Vermeersch's aren't new for Surrey - Surrey News". Surrey Now. Archived from the original on 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ^ "Crime and punishment. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ UCFC. "Melanie Carpenter Abducted While Working Alone". ucfiles.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "1995-01-27 | Abduction-Carpenter". Earbank. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "An Indigenous mother searches for answers on B.C.'s Highway of Tears". The UC Observer. 2004-11-01. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ Crime in the West: True Horror Stories in the West. APH Publishing. 1996-01-01. ISBN 9788170247913.
- ^ "Murder in the Giant mine | Maclean's | JANUARY 30, 1995". Maclean's | The Complete Archive. Retrieved 2018-11-23.
- ^ "Cameras, cameras everywhere - CBC Archives". Retrieved 2017-04-11.
- ^ "Carpenter's body found in B.C". Alberta Report. 22 (9): 45. February 1995.
- ^ "Memorials". Reto Marti Stone Mason/Sculptor. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
- ^ Zytaruk, Tom. "SURREY MURDER: Here we go again — cases like Serena Vermeersch's aren't new for Surrey - Surrey News". Surrey Now. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 2017-03-24.