Final remains of murdered aboriginal woman returned to family after eight years
HALIFAX — The final remains of a murdered Mi’kmaq woman have been returned to her family, eight years after Tanya Brooks’ body was found outside a Halifax school.
Brooks’ sister Vanessa Brooks, 43, said police had withheld her brain as part of the ongoing investigation into the still-unsolved murder.
She said it was returned to the family Wednesday, and a smudging ceremony was conducted with investigators and members of victim services and the medical examiner’s office.
“I don’t think there’s any way that I can possibly articulate just how monumental this is … to our family,” she said at Halifax police headquarters on Thursday, eight years to the day after her older sister’s body was discovered nearby.