Ontario woman murdered in case of alleged femicide remembered by community

On Wednesday, a memorial bench was unveiled just outside the Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre on Elizabeth Street in London.

Advocates say the murder of a local London, Ont., woman is a devastating loss and one that, like all cases of violence against women, should not be forgotten.

On Wednesday, a memorial bench was unveiled just outside the Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre on Elizabeth Street in London to a group of family, friends, advocates, and local politicians in honour of Cheryl Lynn Sheldon, 62.

The site has a plaque that reads, “In loving memory of my sister Cheryl Sheldon — taken from us far too soon by femicide. There is a hole in my heart where you will dwell eternally. We all love you, sis, and you will never be forgotten.”

On June 22, Cheryl was found with life-threatening injuries in an apartment building on Wharncliffe Road North, near Western Road. She was rushed to hospital where she later died.

George Kenneth Curtis, 44, has been charged with second-degree murder in her death, and police said the two were known to each other and took the opportunity to remind the public of support services available for victims of intimate partner violence.

Local violence against women’s advocate Fabienne Haller says it has been reported that Cheryl sought help from a local women’s shelter before her death but was unable to get a bed due to there not being enough space.

“When a woman is finally reaching out for help, and she can’t get it, it’s devastating,” says woman’s advocate Fabienne Haller.

Haller used to work at the London Abused Women’s Centre and said that while she did not know Cheryl personally, she and the centre’s former executive director, Megan Walker, wanted to ensure she was not forgotten.