'It's just horrific': Mother of Chilliwack murder victim hoping to raise awareness, support
Weeks after her daughter was viciously killed, Jana Jorgenson is hoping to raise awareness for women facing abuse.
On July 21, Jorgenson’s daughter, 43-year-old Amber Culley, was shot and killed by Eric Shestalo inside a Chilliwack home. Mimi Kates, 49, was also killed, and Culley’s brother Aaron was shot, but survived.
"It's just horrific to think we'll never see her again. I just can't believe that quite yet,” Jorgenson told CTV News.
On July 22, Shestalo’s red Jeep YJ was found in the Bridal Falls area, east of Chilliwack. On July 25, Shestalo’s body was found. Police say it appears he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Jorgenson says Shestalo was an ex-partner of her daughter.
"Nobody in our family liked him and we tried desperately to keep him away from her,” Jorgenson said.
Jorgenson said Culley had a restraining order against Shestalo, who was supposed to be in court the same day as the killings to face multiple charges of assault and uttering threats to cause bodily harm.
“This was a man who should have been put away 20 years ago,” she said.
Jorgenson said her daughter wasn’t the first woman to have issues with Shestalo.
“A lot of them have contacted us (with) the same kind of scary stories, that didn’t quite get to this,” she said.
Jorgenson said she’d now like to see more support and awareness of violence against women.
"This predatory type of behaviour that is insurmountable for these women, they live in that fear but they don't know how to reach out really and tell other people,” she said.
"As a community, we need to come together and create more for these women to have safety and to have counselling before something like this happens.”
Culley’s two sons – 12-year-old Dante and nine-year-old Magnus – were home at the time of the shootings and witnessed much of the incident.
"They've had so much trauma in their life,” Jorgenson said.
She says the boys' father also died three years ago of a medical emergency.
Despite the severe hardships, Jorgenson says they’ve remained very strong.
“They’re really focused on her (Amber) being present,” she said.
The family has created an online trust fund for the boys, hoping others will help them build towards the future.
"I just want them to be able to have an opportunity,” Jorgenson said.
Dante and Magnus are now living with Jorgenson and her husband in Parksville, B.C.
Details on the online trust for Culley's sons are seen at the bottom of this memorial image.
A celebration of the life of Amber Culley will be held in Maple Ridge on Aug. 25.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.