"Everyone's kind of in disbelief and what we want is justice for Kiara," her aunt said.
After the death of a 23-year-old woman at a hotel in a Mexican resort town, authorities have detained a suspect, as per reports. Citing prosecutors in Mexico, the CBC reports that the woman from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, was found dead on March 3rd, at a hotel in the coastal resort city of Playa Del Carmen. In a GoFundMe campaign organized to help bring her remains home, family members have identified the victim as Kiara Agnew.
A Canadian man is being held in connection with the death of a Dawson Creek, B.C. woman at a resort south of Cancun Friday. https://t.co/3t4gPa02ZR
— CBC British Columbia (@cbcnewsbc) March 5, 2023
Agnew was on a "dream birthday vacation" with her boyfriend, that "turned into a nightmare on March 3, 2023, when our family was notified of her death, at the hands of someone she loved, who turned out to be a monster," the fundraiser stated. "We are raising money for costs associated with bringing our girl home, being told it will be at least $20,000," it added.
The family of a B.C. woman who has connections to New Brunswick and was found dead in Mexico on Friday is desperate to get her body home.https://t.co/OGbk8hHmRq
— CTV Atlantic (@CTVAtlantic) March 6, 2023
"I didn't want it to be true — I still don't want it to be true," Agnew's aunt Katlyn Levesque told CBC News.
Police in Mexico announced on Twitter they "insured a person of foreign origin for the possible crime of femicide after a lifeless woman was found with possible marks of violence in a hotel located in the Xcalacoco neighborhood." On March 3rd, the Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo also confirmed in a tweet that "an investigation file was initiated on a foreign person arrested for his probable participation in the femicide of a Canadian woman that occurred in a hotel in the Riviera Maya."
Policías de la SSPyT de Solidaridad aseguraron a una persona de origen extranjero por el posible delito de feminicidio, tras ser encontrada una mujer sin vida con posibles marcas de violencia en un hotel ubicado en la colonia Xcalacoco. pic.twitter.com/CoJc9S3zwf
— Seguridad Pública Solidaridad (@SSP_Solidaridad) March 3, 2023
The cause of death and the motive remains unclear as well. "It's beyond tragic," Agnew's aunt, Katlyn Levesque, told CTV News. "Everyone's kind of in disbelief and what we want is justice for Kiara," Levesque added. "We want her home. We want everything to come out. We want the truth to come out. We want whoever did this to be held accountable."
According to Levesque, Agnew was born and brought up in the New Brunswick village of Plaster Rock and moved to Dawson Creek when she was a teenager. She was in Mexico with her boyfriend on a vacation at the time of her death. Agnew worked at the Lake View Credit Union, which has an office in Dawson Creek. "All at Lake View Credit Union are mourning the loss of our teammate and friend, Kiara Agnew," a Facebook post from the credit union read. "We send our love and faith to all others who have been impacted."
"Kiara loved to travel, she has wanted to travel since she's been little," her aunt said. "She was really excited about [the trip] ... she had a heart of gold. She was vibrant, courageous, driven," she added. "She was an animal lover," Agnew's aunt recalled, "She's the kind of girl that would stop on the side of the road and need to rescue whatever animal's there — a bird, a cat, a baby raccoon, it wouldn't matter."
According to the CBC, Canadian authorities are "providing consular assistance to the families and are in contact with local authorities," spokesperson Marilyne Guèvremont said. "Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed." The investigation is still ongoing.
References:
https://people.com/crime/woman-killed-mexican-resort-vacation-kiara-agnew/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bring-kiara-agnew-home?qid=7814409e1c5dc161add7ea276e993f69
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-woman-killed-mexico-1.6768928
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe
