Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Esther Uhlman. Thank you for having me here and for taking the time to listen to my family's story.

I'm here to talk about my aunt and namesake, Esther Jones. Esther went by the name Esthie, so to me she was Aunt Esthie.

Aunt Esthie was number nine of 15 children. Growing up in a large family cultivated Aunt Esthie into a spirited and caring person. As a child, I remember following her around, trying to be just like my aunt, with whom I shared my name. She always had bags of candy on hand to give treats to her students and to her many nieces and nephews. She was passionate about family, faith, animal rights and music. She took her undergrad degree in music and hoped to pursue her master's, but this opportunity was robbed from her.

On August 31, all of Aunt Esthie's hopes, dreams and potential future were stolen from her. My aunt was the victim of a brutal homicide.

Aunt Esthie's final day was spent simply living her life. She hoped to continue doing what she loved: teaching piano lessons. She was keeping things as normal as possible as she coped with the loss of her mother, who had died just a few weeks prior. Aunt Esthie entered her piano studio in the afternoon. This was where she was last seen. Police have confirmed that she was killed on the night of August 31. Her remains have not been recovered. Aunt Esthie's earthly journey ended on the night of August 31, but my family's journey was only beginning.

On September 2, all my family connected, realizing that no one had spoken to Aunt Esthie since Saturday. Aunt Mary filed a missing persons report. On September 4, Aunt Esthie's vehicle was located near the scene of her last known location. The major crime unit took over the investigation, and on September 11, the Southwest Nova RCMP major crime unit charged Dale Allen Toole of Tremont, Annapolis County, with first-degree murder in relation to Aunt Esthie's disappearance.

The heartbreaking emotions experienced by my family and me during the weeks following Aunt Esthie's disappearance are unexplainable. There was a sense of urgency, stress and guilt, and there was also subconscious preparation for the worst-case scenario. From the beginning, many of us had that gut feeling that this would not end well, but we felt a sense of guilt for not maintaining hope. I subconsciously could not maintain hope because I had to prepare myself for what was become my family's reality. Our loved one was the victim of a homicide, and we will live with that forever.

When my family was first informed that Aunt Esthie had been murdered, I pledged to my mom and dad that I would do everything in my power to prevent this from happening to another innocent family. I will do what I can to protect innocent women like my Aunt Esthie.

My aunt's alleged killer was not a first-time offender. Just two years ago, the accused committed, and was convicted of, another unprovoked violent crime against another woman. That time, the victim was his little sister. He was convicted of choking an individual, committing an assault and assault causing bodily harm. He was not jailed as part of the sentence for that crime; he was given a brief conditional sentence with a curfew at night and a short period of probation.

I have seen no evidence that this inadequate sentence reformed or rehabilitated him. Instead, he was free, and has now been charged with killing my aunt.

Aunt Esthie's alleged killer was free because of crime legislation that prioritized Dale over his previous assault victim. Legislation like Bill C-5 removed mandatory minimum sentencing on some violent crimes. As no mandatory minimum sentencing was in place, Dale was not sentenced to jail time nor properly monitored.

Due to our flawed justice system, my aunt is dead. Actions have consequences. The legislators of Bill C-5 may have had the best of intentions, but that did not protect the innocent. My Aunt Esthie died because of this type of pro-offender, anti-victim legislation.

I am here to demand change for past and future victims. I do not need your sympathy. Do not tell me that you're sorry for my loss unless you're prepared to prioritize protecting victims in the future.

Thank you for listening to my family's story. I hope this helps you to improve policies to protect innocent women from the kind of unspeakable violence that my family has experienced.

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