Family remains traumatized by Sudbury man's brutal murder
I will never get back to the way I was before'
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Jennifer Edwards never returned a call she got from her father a few days before he was murdered in March of 2017.
The call indicated her dad — Kenneth — was looking forward to celebrating his 60th birthday and looking into buying an Indian brand motorcycle for himself.
“I never thought to return that call to my dad,” she said in her victim impact statement Monday. “I wish I had because that call was the last time I would hear my dad’s voice. My life, my family’s life, has forever changed.”
Jennifer said she and her family members had to go in and clean up the mess and also repair the damage that Darcy Sheppard did to her father’s home to prepare it for sale, adding stress and financial issues to her family on top of dealing with her father’s brutal murder.
“I will be forever haunted and scarred by the smell of human remains in my dad’s home,” she said. “There was blood everywhere.”
On Monday, Sheppard was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole for 17 years for stabbing and bludgeoning Edwards to death, then cutting up his body.
Jennifer Edwards said she now suffers from social anxiety, sleep issues and depression.
“I went from being a lively, socially dynamic person to a hermit who confines herself to her home where she feels safe and in control,” said Jennifer. “I have felt like a very broken person for a long time.”
In a letter she wrote to her father, Jennifer said she misses him very much.
“I still think about you every day and pray that you are at peace,” she said through tears. “I still bake a chocolate cake on your birthday even though you are not here to enjoy it. We planted a tree in our front yard as a marker … I miss you playing guitar for us and watching Jeopardy, fishing, snorkeling with you, having dinner and playing cards.”
Tears overcame Olivia Gauvreau, Edwards’ granddaughter, repeatedly as she read in her victim impact statement, saying she missed her “poppa” very much.
“He was my best friend: it was hard,” she said.
Gauvreau, who noted her grandfather called her his “little tookie” (a derivation of toucan), said she now deals with depression and anxiety.
“I had never felt more alone and scared,” she said. “I will never get back to the way I was before … My usually upbeat energy persona has been taken over by this bitter, mean and irritable version of myself.”
In a letter she wrote to her grandfather, Gauvreau said she used to pick dandelions with him, and he even tried to teach her how to play cribbage.
“I’ll always be your little tookie,” she said. “I’m honoured I was able to be your little tookie … I hope you are in a better place now. I miss and love you, papa. I always have and always will.”
Carolyn Godfrey, Edwards’ ex-wife, had harsh words for Sheppard.
“I’m angry with you, Darcy, for damaging, disrupting and impacting the lives of the ones I live with,” she said. “You had no right to murder the father of my children. You had no reason to change the direction of everyone’s life … I have nightmares imagining and reliving Ken’s last minutes on this Earth.”
Godfrey, who also read in her son Kelly’s victim impact statement, said her son keeps to himself now.
“I’m not trusting of people,” he wrote. “My dad trusted people and look what happened to him … When I found out what Darcy did to killed my dad and what he did to my dad’s body, I was full of rage. Not only was he killed, but his dismembered body was burned with garbage.”
Kelly said he was not present in court for the sentencing hearing because he could not “handle even looking at Darcy.”
Cathy Pomerleau, Edwards’ sister, said she misses her brother.
“Ken and I used to play cribbage at least once a week,” she said. “I would have Ken over for supper with just myself and my husband. He loved coming over to the farm. He enjoyed seeing the horses and especially the dogs we had … He was a good person. He would help anyone who needs it.”
Pomerleau said she is a different person now because of her brother’s death.
“Not a day goes by I don’t think of Ken,” she said. “I will be forever scarred by this violent murder of my brother. It’s in my head and will never be erased … There is no turning back time. All we have is photos and memories of the time we spent together.”
Pomerleau, who was overcome by emotion near the end of her address, said Sheppard will, for the rest of his life, have to deal with the fact he murdered her brother.
“I hope he gets help,” she said through tears. “I hope no one else has to fall prey to such an ordeal.”
hcarmichael@postmedia.com
Twitter: @HaroldCarmichae
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