LINDSAY GROVES, QMI AGENCY
Tyler Hoddinott was working at Giant Tiger, Sunday, when he got a call from his mother that sent him into panic mode.
“I didn’t know how to tell him. I said there was an accident, then I told him straight: Stephanie was dead,” said Tyler’s mother, Christina Hoddinott.
Midland police haven’t released the names of either the victim or the suspect in what they believe to be an apparent murder and suicide attempt, but family members have identified the slain 20-year-old woman as Stephanie Hoddinott.
Both Hoddinott and the suspect, also 20 years old, suffered gunshot wounds to the head, said police.
Police were called around 2:30 p.m., Sunday, to an Irwin Street home where they found a seriously injured woman. She was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
About 10 minutes after the initial call, a man, identified as 20-year-old Jacob Ferrier of Penetanguishene, with life-threatening injuries was located in a vehicle on Bayshore Drive, not far from the Irwin Street home. He was airlifted to Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, where he remains in critical condition.
Police have obtained a warrant for his arrest on charges of first-degree murder.
Police said they found a .45-calibre, semiautomatic handgun inside the vehicle.
A police officer said Sunday that the couple had been in a relationship which may have ended recently.
Tyler and Stephanie were cousins, best friends and soon-to-be roommates. “We were like brother and sister,” he said.
Stephanie was moving to Toronto in February, and Tyler had plans to move with her. Because her family worried about the move to the city, Stephanie would try to calm their fears by telling her aunt, “I’m not going alone, Tyler’s with me.”
After a small argument about their living arrangements in Toronto, Tyler had sent Stephanie a text message apologizing.
Her last text message to him ended with the words: “Love you, no matter what.”
Tyler was the only cashier working when he received the call, but left his customers and ran to the back of the store.
“I was in a daze,” he said. “It’s like a dream no one wants to believe.”
When Tyler arrived home, family and friends started arriving.
“The doors kept opening and closing,” said Christina.
As they all started to remember Stephanie, there was a mixture of laughter and tears. The laughter came as everyone remembered a young woman they knew as “Blondie” with a positive and fun personality who “giggled when she was happy” and had childhood dreams of being a model. Then there were tears as reality hit them again and left everyone shocked.
“Everyone just keeps saying, ‘Not Steph, you must be joking — who would want to hurt Steph?'” said Christina.
While they try to come to terms with what happened, Christina and Tyler want Stephanie to be remembered for who she was, not only as the victim.
“I always thought she’d be famous — on a catwalk, modelling,” said Christina, who laughed through her tears while she remembered Stephanie as a little girl, with those big dreams.
Yet, Stephanie turned away from the camera for every picture.
“I’d ask her, ‘Are you going to be a hand model’?” said Christina.
Her modelling dreams slowly faded as she pursued a career in animal care. Stephanie had recently landed her “dream job” at the University of Toronto working with animals for research purposes. She was a graduate of Northern College in its veterinary technician program. While working as a vet assistant in Orillia, she also did part-time work for the University of Toronto.
She was scheduled to start her full-time position with the school next month.
Christina and Tyler describe Stephanie as a determined woman, who was seeing her dreams fall into place. Her loving attitude towards animals would transcend into her daily life with her friends and family. “She adopted as many people as animals,” Christina said. “She was open to everyone and had so many friends — maybe she was nice to the wrong people.”
Amber Twitchin, a friend and former co-worker, also remembers Stephanie’s kind personality.
“She was just so nice. She was always concerned with what everyone else wanted. She was so loving. It’s just so sad,” Twitchin said.
Tyler reached out to the online community and started a Facebook group in memory of his beloved cousin and friend. The memories and condolences quickly started coming in.
“In the first two hours there were over 500 members. Now, it’s over 1,000,” said Tyler. “It shows how many lives she’s touched.”
Tyler thought of Stephanie as his protector. She was his friend to confide in, and, as he describes her “his rock.”
“If there was ever a problem, Stephanie would deal with it,” he said. “I never thought she would need protecting.”
Midland murders
Jan. 10, 2010– Midland police investigate an apparent murder and subsequent suicide attempt after a 20-year-old Midland woman dies after being shot in the head at an Irwin Street residence. Police find the seriously injured woman inside the home around 2:25 p.m. She is rushed to a local hospital where she dies. The suspect, a 20-year-old Penetanguishene man, is found inside a vehicle about 10 minutes later on nearby Bayshore Drive, also suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He is airlifted to a Toronto hospital with life-threatening injuries. A semiautomatic handgun is found in the suspect’s vehicle. Police said the couple had been dating, but that the relationship may have recently ended.
Nov. 14, 2005– Katlin
Cousineau’s charred remains are found among the rubble after a Midland home burns to the ground. The mentally challenged 23-year-old woman was tortured with a blowtorch and doused with rubbing alcohol before the home was set ablaze to hide her body. Investigators believe she died two days earlier. Handcuffs and a torch were found in the basement. After a two-month trial, Paul Bradey, a 45-year-old Midland man, was found guilty of first-degree murder, indignity to a human body and arson. He was sentenced to life in jail without the chance of parole for 25 years. Susanna Balogh, 33, is serving an eight-year prison sentence, while Mat Sitte, 25, of Midland, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for 10 years.
Feb. 3, 1989– Rookie social worker Krista Sepp, 21, is stabbed 19 times while working alone during the night shift at a Midland group home. It was her second week on the job. James Tobin, 18, was convicted of second-degree murder and handed a life sentence with parole eligibility after 12 years. Tobin’s girlfriend, 16-year-old Joyanne Beeson, was living there after trying to murder her mother and stepfather. Moments before Tobin killed Sepp, Beeson ripped out the group home’s only telephone so Sepp could not call police. Beeson, sentenced to six years for manslaughter, was released in 1995.
LINDSAY EVELYN GROVES. 