The great-aunt of Tina Fontaine says she’s saddened and disturbed by details of a recent court case.
Reached by phone by CTV News Thursday evening, Thelma Favel commented on published reports that 27-year-old Jeanenne Fontaine was charged in a human trafficking case that involved holding a 17-year-old girl captive. Favel said the woman is her great-niece and Tina’s first cousin.
“It broke my heart all over again,” said Favel. “The saddest part, it’s a relative of mine.”
The case centred on an apartment in Winnipeg’s West End. Published reports suggest Tina stayed there prior to her disappearance in August 2014. The body of the 15-year-old was found in the Red River.
Favel said she wasn’t sure where Tina was staying after she left Sagkeeng First Nation July 1st and went to Winnipeg. She also said they didn’t keep in touch with Jeanenne Fontaine and her mother, who left the first nation several years ago, but Tina may have reconnected with them once she arrived in the city.
Favel wonders how much interaction Tina had with her cousin and aunt in her final days.
She also hoped that the 17-year-old girl mentioned in the trafficking case will be able to recover.
