Ardeth Wood was finally laid to rest on Monday, a week after her body was found crudely buried under some branches along an east end creek and nearly 10 days after she first disappeared while going on a bike ride.
More than 600 mourners, many of them complete strangers, packed into Notre Dame Cathedral on Sussex Drive to bid farewell to a women described as being kind, gentle and devoutly religious.
The two hour Roman Catholic mass was held in Latin and presided over by Archbishop Marcel Gervais and Ardeth's uncle, Rev. William Ashley who blamed the devil and his evil workings for his niece's death.
"It is the devil's envy that brings death. It is the devil's envy that caused Ardeth's death," said Father Ashley, comparing the evil that possessed her killer to that of Adolf Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. "But even though we are in tragic circumstances, the whole reality of death is strangely positive. The devil cannot be more successful than Ardeth Wood."
Wood's casket was brought into the downtown church by six pallbearers led by her brothers Colum and Crispin. Two of the investigators involved in her murder case also helped carry the casket.
The young woman's parents Brenden and Catherine Wood stoically trailed behind the casket, her mother gripping a copy of the bible in one hand and her husband's arm with the other.
Once in the church the casket was surrounded by six candles. Mourners were handed an essay Wood wrote while pursuing her PhD at the University of Waterloo entitled Liberty's Limits as well as a selection of her favourite poems and prayers.
Reading from the essay, Father Ashley spoke of how freedom had become "a choice between good and evil". Wood's killer had the freedom to choose evil, said Father Ashley, but those who find freedom in God are able to find their way home again.
Msrg. Patrick Powers, vicar general of the archdiocese of Ottawa, acknowledged the Wood family for having forgiven Ardeth's killer but noted that even forgiveness could not erase the sense of loss that has gripped the entire community.
"Ardeth's death has caused a great darkness to descend upon your family and this community," Msrg. Powers said as he addressed the congregation. "We will not allow the way she died to overshadow the wonderful things she did in her short life."
Following the service Wood's casket was led out of the church into the brilliant sunshine. Passersby stopped and hushed their voices as the wooden coffin was slowly placed into a waiting hearse. Traffic along Sussex Drive was closed as the funeral party climbed into the motorcade before heading off to Notre Dame Cemetery on Montreal Road and Wood's final resting place.
Outside the church Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli lamented Wood's murder, describing it as a tragic result of Ottawa becoming a "big city".
"With all the growth we've been experiencing comes big city problems as well," said Chiarelli, who took time to praise Wood's parents for the way they've handled their daughter's death. "They have been very, very outstanding in terms of their leadership and their compassion They're an example to the whole city."
Elsewhere outside the church, friends and former colleagues of the philosophy student and aspiring professor took turns speaking to the media and helping to draw a picture of a woman who was independent and reserved by nature but wasn't afraid to speak her mind or share her thoughts when motivated. Others commented on her innate goodness and indelible spirit.
"She a had glow, just a shine in her eyes and that was Ardeth," said friend Debbie Dietrich who was part of a group of friends and colleagues who travelled from Waterloo to attend the funeral. "She was as beautiful inside and she was outside."
As Ardeth Wood was being laid to rest the search for her killer continued. Of the 185 names of possible suspects that have so far been called into police matching the composite sketch released last week, 107 have been cleared.
"We're continuing to pursue the remaining names,' says Staff Sgt. Monique Ackland.
Police also continue to search the crime scene along the Rockcliffe Parkway near Green's Creek and follow up on the more than 1,600 tips that have so far been furnished by members of the public.