Woman dies after brutal beating
Article content
OTTAWAA mother of two who was beaten with a baseball bat by her husband, who then killed himself, died of her injuries Wednesday.
Family of Theresa Lefebvre, 46, requested privacy, police said, as those who knew the husband gathered in the Ottawa area of Kanata.
The April 11 attack at the Stitsville home the family shared stunned the otherwise quiet Ottawa neighbourhood.
Peter and Theresa, who had been married for more than two decades, leave behind two sons, aged 12 and 15.
Donations are being collected for a trust fund set up in their names, Nicholas and Kyle, at the TD Canada Trust in Stittsville.
A friend declined to comment Wednesday, but other co-workers and neighbours have described Theresa as a proud parent and organized mom who kept her marital discontent to herself.
Reached on Wednesday, the Lefebvre family declined to comment.
Youngsters from a hockey team Peter coached were expected to gather at his wake on Wednesday night, where an earlier open casket showing drew up to 60 people.
The Lefebvre children were not in attendance, according to a close friend of Peter's who attended.
"The video they played was Peter and the kids. That's the Peter I knew, not the one laying down," said the friend, who remains in shock over the tragedy. "I'm not the same person anymore. I needed closure and that was closure."
The murder-suicide makes Theresa the fourth homicide victim in Ottawa this year.
Her family has donated her organs to save others.
The couple had been in the midst of a separation. Domestic violence experts say women are most at risk to be hurt or even killed by their partners during divorces or separations.
Theresa had asked for a divorce because she no longer loved Peter, not because she was being abused, according to a statement issued by Peter's family.
Peter took the news of his marriage ending "extremely hard," the message indicated.
Police had probed the couple's marital history as part of their investigation, which is closed.
A funeral for Peter will be held on Thursday.