It’s been five years today since Douglas Stewart was murdered. And not one of those days has gone by that Linda Beland doesn’t think about her younger son and his killer.
“It hasn’t gotten any easier,” the Ottawa mother and grandmother said. “I wonder what he was doing five years ago, when he was killed.
“I miss him so much.”
Despite trying to move on with grief counselling, Beland said she can’t rest until her son’s killer is found.
“I need to know who and why,” she said.
On Feb. 18, 2004, Stewart, 19, was found beaten to death in bed at his 15th floor apartment at 1240 Donald St. in the city’s east end. Police believe he was bludgeoned to death with a tire iron.
Although Ottawa police are saying the case is still open, not much is happening, she said. “I’m not giving up hope. I truly believe that the person that killed my son will be found.”
Until then, Beland hopes that a candlelit vigil she’s holding at the Notre Dame Cemetery on Montreal Road tonight will keep Stewart’s memory alive, and remind people that the case is still open.
The vigil, which begins at 7 p.m., is expected to draw more than 100 people.
“I’m doing this vigil to let everyone know that we still have a murderer walking among us,” she said.
Beland and her older son, Raymond, 30, are working on creating their own reward to help find Stewart’s killer.
“I believe it will help in bringing someone forward,” she said.
