The Memorial Page for Two Lost Angels
Updated December 2/2006
Welcome to the Amber Alert For Holly Home Page, which is now The Memorial Page for Two Lost Angels. I am updating this page to honour, not only Holly Jones, but also Cecilia Zhang. Two bright lights who were taken from us much too soon. The city weeps with the parents and the families of both these gems.
Background on our angels
Holly Jones
Holly Jones was taken after walking her friend home in her neighbourhood on May 12/2003 and some of her body parts were found the next day off the shore of Toronto Island. Sex offender, Michael Briere was later arrested and charged with her killer.
It's hard to believe that it's been three years since Holly Jones was killed. Here are some notes of update:
Grim Remembrance
If ever there was a bitter irony in timing, it�s this one � the same day the killer of Cecilia Zhang heard his final fate in a Brampton courtroom, the city paused to remember yet another little girl taken too soon.
Friday marked the three-year anniversary of the murder of Holly Jones.
The 10-year-old girl was on her way back from a friend�s home in the Bloor and Perth Ave. area on May 12, 2003, but she never arrived.
Stunned, her increasingly frantic mother called police. By then, it was already too late.
The youngster had been lured into a townhouse owned by Michael Briere. He later admitted that he killed the child after watching pornography over the Internet, then dismembered and scattered her remains along the lakeshore.
Just months later, another stranger would take Cecilia out of her own home with equally chilling results.
On the solemn day that marks her disappearance and death, community residents gathered at the neighbourhood parkette named in her honour to remember the small girl with the big smile.
Children wrote messages on paper butterflies from the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club, which were taken to Holly�s home.
�There�s nothing sadder than the death of a child, and a murdered child brings a whole community together in grief,� said local psychologist Dr. Marlee McKay.
�The fact that people are coming back year after year shows just how important every child is in our community.�
The turnout was inspiring, but one of the most visible victims in the sad story wasn�t there for the solemn ceremony as Holly's mother Maria chose to mark the terrible day alone.
�It�s been a constant sorrow in our hearts and in our lives,� said family friend Eileen Rose.
�To know such a horrible thing has happened to someone as dear to us as Holly was.�
Indeed, the evening event did prove one thing: while Holly Jones is gone and never to return, in the same way, she will never be forgotten.
�We�re not forgetting Holly, and we�re not forgetting all of the other children that have fallen to individuals that are out there and that prey on kids,� said Joe Wamback of the Canadian Crime Victims� Association.
When the butterflies and cards and flowers were taken to the Jones home, Holly�s mother did offer brief comment through tears.
�I�m so grateful,� said Maria Jones.
�Please don�t stop�never forget Holly.�
Update; May 10/2006
Webmaster's Notes;
Min Chen, the man accused of murdering Cecilia Zhang, has been sentenced to fifteen years for the killing of Cecilia Zhang. Read below.
Judgment Day
Min Chen will spend the next 15 years in jail before he�ll be eligible for a chance at freedom.
That�s the decision from Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno, who had been weighing the penalty the convicted killer of little Cecilia Zhang should receive after his second-degree murder guilty plea on Tuesday.
It appears the judge decided to compromise on the sentence, after the Crown had demanded 17-20 years and Chen�s attorneys asked for 10-12.
The 23-year-old�s admission that he had gone to the girl�s North York home in October 2003 to kidnap the child in order to raise a $25,000 ransom was a factor in the final decision.
The judge indicated because there was no evidence of premeditation and that according to the killer he never meant to hurt Cecilia, the Crown�s request was too much, while Chen's counsel wanted too little.
In the end, the jurist split the difference, arriving at the 15-year count.
Defence lawyer John Rosen admits he wasn�t expecting a different outcome.
�I thought it was a little high. I realize that the judge probably would not impose the minimum. Clearly there were too many aggravating factors. But on the other hand I'm sure the prosecution was not happy, so perhaps it was a good compromise ...
"He's never been in trouble before, and he's made a huge mistake - that has to be recognized."
Rosen refused to say how Chen reacted to the news he�d be locked up for at least the next 15 years. But he maintains it�s fairly obvious.
�You're talking about a 23-year-old - and it's life. He still has an uncertain future when he goes back to China. He's going to be facing arrest and incarceration there for a number of years � So this is just the beginning of a long road home."
The 15-year figure doesn�t mean Chen will be a free man when his parole eligibility comes up, just that he can apply for it then.
Durno also took into account the likelihood that Chen will be jailed in Shanghai when he�s finally released and deported from Canada.
The murderer issued his surprise mea culpa in Brampton earlier this week, noting Cecilia�s death was an accident and he wanted to spare her already grieving parents the ordeal of a lengthy trial.
He will be 38 when his first chance at freedom comes up.
Family Tragedies
In all the time the city was going through the trauma of Cecilia Zhang�s disappearance and Min Chen�s arrest, there was only one group that was never officially heard from � the parents of the killer.
Now for the very first time, Chen�s folks have issued a statement on the crimes that have made their son infamous around the world.
The very brief text offers their condolences to the Zhang family and acknowledges that their son was responsible for the tragedy that robbed them of their beloved child.
Here�s what they had to say:
"We are extremely sad for the parents of Cecilia Zhang and we are sadder because Min Chen caused her death.
"We feel the pains and suffering that Cecilia's parents have been enduring because we have been experiencing similar pains ourselves.
�We wish to express our sympathy and condolence to Miss Sherry Xu and Mr. Raymond Zhang and their families. We have waited to express our feelings until the case is completed.
�We have never authorized nor requested any other person to make a public statement for us before this day."
If you would like to talk to me, just e-mail me.
Yes, Holly, we pray for peace for kids everywhere.
Let's help prevent abductions and killings by teaching escape techniques to our kids. They can learn them from Escape School.
I am now a moderator of the International Missing Child Alerts
If you know of a child who is missing, please let us kow. Let's bring our children home.
