In the grim aftermath of child homicide, families and first responders struggle to cope

There are no members of the Robillard family left in southeast Edmonton.

In their grief after Carolann Robillard and her 11-year-old child, Jayden Miller, were fatally stabbed in a random attack outside Crawford Plains School on May 5, 2023, surviving family members could no longer face spending their days in that part of the city.

Carolann Robillard's two surviving daughters moved out of the city. Her sister, Amanda Robillard, moved to the north side and her mother, Donna Robillard, followed.

"There was too many memories and all that," Donna Robillard said in an interview this month.

The Robillards' loss was massive and overwhelming — a violent, random homicide had claimed two family members, one of them only a child.

Jayden was one of six Edmonton children whose deaths were ruled homicides in 2023 — the highest number of child homicides the city has seen in a single year in at least a decade.

Any homicide can be devastating regardless of the victim's age, but families and first responders who grapple with children being killed face a uniquely painful situation.

Circumstances of the child deaths in Edmonton last year ranged from alleged parental infanticide to a suspected intentional gang shooting.

The victims ranged in age from five weeks to 11 years old:

Though not classified as a homicide, police have also laid criminal negligence charges against three adults in the September 2023 death of a 23-month-old boy who investigators say died after ingesting amounts of several strong opioids.

The majority of homicide victims in Edmonton are adults. Few are children, according to data provided by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS).

EPS keeps a close eye on officers assigned to investigate the deaths of children and teens, making sure they have the support they need, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Officers can seek help from an employee and family assistance program.

Insp. Colin Derksen said the homicide team has tried to come up with practical ways to offer support, such as avoiding sending detectives who have small children of their own to attend the autopsy of a child. Other investigators without young children often volunteer to go instead.

"Files involving the death of children are always especially difficult for our investigators. They see children as the 'truest of all victims' — victims who are unable to defend themselves and rely on adults to keep them safe," Derksen said in a statement.