Jessiah Prestige Young, a two-year-old whose grandmother is accused of killing her in northern Manitoba, was a happy, cuddly girl, her family says.
“Jessiah was really happy. She loved to dance. She loved to cuddle,” said Roberta Goosehead, Jessiah’s aunt, at a news conference on Thursday in Winnipeg.
“She longed for the long hugs and she was really lovable.”
Manitoba RCMP have charged Burma Skye, 56, with second-degree murder in Jessiah’s death.
Police were first called Jan. 24 about the suspicious death in Bloodvein First Nation after Jessiah was taken to the nursing station with serious injuries. The two-year-old was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
An autopsy later determined the death was the result of a homicide and on Wednesday, police arrested and charged Burma Skye, who was Jessiah’s primary caregiver.
Goosehead took care of Jessiah after her parents asked her to raise the girl.
To lose her is heartbreaking, Goosehead said.
“My mind’s all over right now,” she said.
“We raised her like she was our own. She was our baby. We loved her and we cared for her so much.”
In a news release, RCMP called the death “a senseless crime that will have a profound impact on the community, first responders and investigating officers.”
Bloodvein is about 210 kilometres north of Winnipeg on the shore of the Bloodvein River where it empties into Lake Winnipeg.