Mother searches for closure in daughter's homicide, fights for her to not be forgotten

Four years after Jana Williams' remains were found outside a Winnipeg building, there is still little known about her death — a homicide that has no arrests and her family searching for answers.

"I want some peace and I want some closure," Charlene Williams, Jana's mother told CBC News. "I want justice for my daughter."

Jana's family and friends gathered for a vigil Wednesday evening on what would have been her 33rd birthday, to remember and mourn the mother whose remains were discovered March 4, 2021, in the city's North Point Douglas neighbourhood. 

Dozens walked south along Main Street from Inkster Boulevard, taking over the left lane of traffic. Some in the crowd held posters with Jana's picture and the words "never forgotten." 

Among dozens in the walk were members of Morgan's Warriors, who stood at the back of the group, some drumming and singing.

The crowd crossed Main and continued down Alfred Avenue, where Williams said police found part of Jana's body inside a suitcase against the wall of a building near the Red River.

"She was an outgoing person, she helped everyone," Williams said. "She just loved life and loved her children and loved her family." 

Though Jana was raised in Winnipeg, her family is from Hollow Water First Nation. She had two daughters and one son, who are now 15, 13 and 8 years old, Williams said.

Jana was also six months pregnant when she died, Williams said. Her fourth child, now known as hummingbird, was also remembered at Wednesday's vigil. 

A teddy bear, flowers and tea lights were placed on a bench painted with hummingbirds, set underneath a tree with bird feeders erected in Jana and her baby's memory.

While her daughter is present in her memory every day, Williams feels Jana has been forgotten by police, who declared her death a homicide in March 2021 but who have said little about their investigation since. 

The last time she spoke with police about her daughter's death was two to three years ago, when an officer told her they were going to find who was behind Jana's death, Williams said.  

"I haven't heard [anything] yet," she said.

CBC News reached out to police for comment but hasn't received a response.

"She's been forgotten," Williams said. "It's tough. It's really tough right now.

"When I'm laying in bed, I close my eyes, and I can picture my daughter fighting for her life … she was a pretty tough girl." 

At the vigil, Kristine Johnston, president of the SOS Sisterhood community group, said that even years after Jana's death, little is known about what happened to her. 

"It's unfortunately being swept under the rug," Johnston said, adding, "it's not just Miss Williams, it's so many others that have gone missing and are murdered and still unsolved today.

"It's tragic and it has to stop."

A report from Statistics Canada shows Indigenous women and girls experienced violence rates higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Between 2009 and 2021, 490 of Canada's homicide victims were Indigenous women and girls. 

"We're not going to stand for this anymore," Johnston said. "There's so many monsters that walk among us that this is why we get together." 

Williams said she can't begin healing until she puts her daughter's soul to rest by getting justice in her death.

Until then, "I'm going to keep doing this every year."