CASPER
New member
Cruel twist of fate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given a new lease on life, Angela Holm was settling into a normal routine after beating a life-threatening immune disorder -- one that claimed her older brother -- she battled since infancy.
Monthly doctor's appointments and treatments were replaced with shifts at her first job and tutoring sessions, and dreams of learning to drive and pursuing a career in health care.
But Holm's life and ambitions were taken away when she was fatally stabbed Monday, allegedly by a stepcousin who had apparently been showing signs of mental instability days before.
"Things were starting to become good for her and he took it all away. She was a beautiful, innocent girl," said Sigga Lynn Holm, Angela's mother.
Angela's family said the attack was unprovoked but they don't know why it happened.
A relative told them the suspect's parents noticed a change in his behaviour recently and considered taking him to a psychiatric ward.
"His parents noticed that something wasn't right with him," Sigga Lynn said.
Angela, 16, was a strong-willed, feisty girl who loved to dance, tease her relatives, and hang out with friends, her family said. She was becoming a young woman as she liked to wear makeup and style her hair and nails.
She was a survivor. She was diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia shortly after birth, showing incredible strength while she endured radiation, chemotherapy, monthly IV injections and, last year alone, two bone marrow transplants.
Her brother Randall, 16, died of the same disorder in January 2008. He and Angela were Sigga Lynn's only children.
"Now they're together," said their step-dad, Gary Rinas.
At the time of her final transplant last September, Angela told her mom she wanted to become a nurse.
Her condition had taken a turn for the better. Her last IV injection was three months ago.
"She was going to be in the clear. She would have been just like a normal kid," Sigga Lynn said.
Angela, known as "Angie" to family and friends, got a job waitressing at Steve & Niki's, a Headingley restaurant.
She was keeping busy until she was to return to John Taylor Collegiate to begin Grade 10 this fall. Her illness had put her studies on hold.
On Monday at 5:30 a.m., Angela was asleep on a couch at her uncle Rudolph Rieck's house at 446 Victor St. when she was attacked.
Rieck, 37, awoke to her screams and came to her aid as the suspect, Rieck's step-son, was allegedly trying to attack his own sister, family said.
Rieck was stabbed in the chest, back and head but survived, Sigga Lynn said.
Everyone but Angela, Rieck and his two young sons escaped the house. The latter three locked themselves in a room until police arrived and arrested the suspect. Witnesses said the suspect showed no emotion and had a carefree look on his face as he was led from the house.
Daniel Jesse James Munroe, 18 -- the son of Rieck's common-law partner, Christina Munroe -- is charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Winnipeg Sun
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given a new lease on life, Angela Holm was settling into a normal routine after beating a life-threatening immune disorder -- one that claimed her older brother -- she battled since infancy.
Monthly doctor's appointments and treatments were replaced with shifts at her first job and tutoring sessions, and dreams of learning to drive and pursuing a career in health care.
But Holm's life and ambitions were taken away when she was fatally stabbed Monday, allegedly by a stepcousin who had apparently been showing signs of mental instability days before.
"Things were starting to become good for her and he took it all away. She was a beautiful, innocent girl," said Sigga Lynn Holm, Angela's mother.
Angela's family said the attack was unprovoked but they don't know why it happened.
A relative told them the suspect's parents noticed a change in his behaviour recently and considered taking him to a psychiatric ward.
"His parents noticed that something wasn't right with him," Sigga Lynn said.
Angela, 16, was a strong-willed, feisty girl who loved to dance, tease her relatives, and hang out with friends, her family said. She was becoming a young woman as she liked to wear makeup and style her hair and nails.
She was a survivor. She was diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia shortly after birth, showing incredible strength while she endured radiation, chemotherapy, monthly IV injections and, last year alone, two bone marrow transplants.
Her brother Randall, 16, died of the same disorder in January 2008. He and Angela were Sigga Lynn's only children.
"Now they're together," said their step-dad, Gary Rinas.
At the time of her final transplant last September, Angela told her mom she wanted to become a nurse.
Her condition had taken a turn for the better. Her last IV injection was three months ago.
"She was going to be in the clear. She would have been just like a normal kid," Sigga Lynn said.
Angela, known as "Angie" to family and friends, got a job waitressing at Steve & Niki's, a Headingley restaurant.
She was keeping busy until she was to return to John Taylor Collegiate to begin Grade 10 this fall. Her illness had put her studies on hold.
On Monday at 5:30 a.m., Angela was asleep on a couch at her uncle Rudolph Rieck's house at 446 Victor St. when she was attacked.
Rieck, 37, awoke to her screams and came to her aid as the suspect, Rieck's step-son, was allegedly trying to attack his own sister, family said.
Rieck was stabbed in the chest, back and head but survived, Sigga Lynn said.
Everyone but Angela, Rieck and his two young sons escaped the house. The latter three locked themselves in a room until police arrived and arrested the suspect. Witnesses said the suspect showed no emotion and had a carefree look on his face as he was led from the house.
Daniel Jesse James Munroe, 18 -- the son of Rieck's common-law partner, Christina Munroe -- is charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Winnipeg Sun
