Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in Oakville News' sister site BayToday.com
HAILEYBURY, Ont. — When approached from the south, the trek to the Haileybury Courthouse follows a long and winding road. Snow sparsely covers the ground as Highway 11B travels through Coleman, Cobalt, and North Cobalt and everywhere one looks, winter is on the cusp of arrival.
While the locals in these fiercely northern Ontario towns would generally be sharing their thoughts and prognostications on the upcoming winter weather at this time of year, this autumn has brought a different, much more difficult topic of conversation — a heinous act of violence in Cobalt the OPP is investigating as intimate partner violence (IPV) — that left one of their own fighting for her life.
Everyone knows everyone here. "Southerners" stick out like sore thumbs in these parts. Every person encountered, whether in the gas station or on the street near where a vigil was held for the victim on Sunday, figures you are in town for the court date and "Kaylie Smith" are the first words out of their mouths. Over one week since the attack, they say it remains the central conversation in these towns and beyond.
Kaylie Smith is in stable condition at CHEO in Ottawa where she is being supported by her family, who have asked for privacy as they navigate the early part of the 16-year-old girl's recovery — a long and winding road, indeed.
Read more here: Suspect in Cobalt attack remains in jail
Meanwhile, Philippe Gagnon, 18, faces his own arduous road as his case makes its way through the preliminary stages of the judicial system. A publication ban is now in place. The Smith family and friends have identified Gagnon as a former boyfriend of Smith's. His case was remanded for two weeks so Gagnon will remain behind bars.
A healthy, rotating group of supporters carried signs and chanted outside the Haileybury Courthouse on Tuesday morning in sub-zero temperatures. All who attended expressed shock at the violent attack and vowed to keep returning to protest to keep the accused in jail.
"Domestic violence is no joke," stated Kailey Kennedy as she took a break from shouting and waving her sign that read, "Justice for Kaylie! No bail! "As someone who's been there and has seen firsthand how scary people can get. It's no joke. It really isn't.
"To see this little girl grow up — and she is such a sweetheart. She is such a sweetheart. To all their friends, I was the big sister and so to see this little girl go through something so horrific at such a young age is ridiculous and it should not have happened. My heart breaks for her."
Carol Kennedy said she spoke to Kaylie Smith over the phone while she was at the vigil in Cobalt on Sunday.
"I just want to say that I did get to speak to her for a couple of minutes over the phone and I was so impressed. She is such a strong kid, man she's strong."
A third Kennedy — Grace — spoke eloquently on behalf of the group in the video above.
Kaylie Smith's friend Kessie Pellerin was one of the first to show up for the protest and was outspoken about the need to keep the perpetrators of IPV locked up.
"We need justice to be served for what happened to her. No one deserves what happened to her, especially for all the gruesome stuff. He needs to be locked up and she needs to have reassurance that she does not have to worry about that happening ever again."
Pellerin said she has been in touch with her dear friend.
"She's OK. She is completely traumatized. She had blunt-force trauma to her head and 16 hours of brain surgery alone. She had around 12 hours of plastic surgery on her hands. She can't get the feeling out of her mind."
On Sunday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m., Temiskaming OPP was called to the scene of the attack, where police say a vehicle had struck the girl at the intersection of Upper Helen Street and Prospect Avenue, near Highway 11B after getting off a bus and starting her walk home following a shift at work.
Read more here: Attempted murder charge laid in Cobalt after vehicle hits 16-year-old pedestrian
"The investigation revealed that an 18-year-old male driving a sport utility vehicle struck a 16-year-old female walking along Helen Street. The male then exited the vehicle and attacked the victim with a sword," according to an OPP release.
The girl suffered life-threatening injuries and was rushed to a local hospital before being airlifted by Ornge to Ottawa.
"The quick response from local residents and witnesses to the incident stopped further attacks on the victim," say police.
Besides the serious head injuries, the family of the victim said her left hand was severed completely from her body and her right hand was very severely cut up by an edged weapon that police have identified as a sword.
An 18-year-old male, Phillipe Rivard Gagnon from Haileybury, was turned in by his mother and is charged in connection to the attack with:
- Attempt to commit murder
- Aggravated assault
- Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
- Breach of conditional sentence order
A family spokesperson confirmed the victim is a former girlfriend of the suspect.
The Temiskaming OPP Crime Unit is continuing the investigation under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch.
Family member Paige Smith, Kaylie's cousin, started a GoFundMe page for the victim and over $97,000 has already been raised by 1,300 donors toward the $100,000 goal.
"First off we’d like to thank first responders, doctors, nurses, the witnesses and everyone involved in getting Kaylie the care she needed so quickly as it definitely made a huge impact on her survival. We would also like to thank the community, the donors, the networks, and the vast amount of people reaching out to help and support Kaylie and the family in the wake of such a heinous and horrific attack.
"We would like to let people know that Kaylie is still stable, the doctors, nurses, staff, and family are in complete awe of her strength, resilience, and determination. She remains in ICU and at the time we request no visitors as it's not allowed while she is in such a vulnerable state. As for recovery, nobody knows how that's going to go, it's much too early, this is a journey that will take months if not a lifetime for Kaylie to heal and overcome."
If you'd like to send the family an encouraging note it has an email account where you can send messages of hope, the email address is [email protected].
— With files from Jeff Turl