EARLY LIFE:
Rose-Ann Blackned was from Nemaska, a Cree community located more than 1,000 km north of Montréal, Québec, Canada. The oldest of nine siblings and the mother to two young sons, she was viewed as a parent by her brothers and sisters.
To cope with a sexual assault she’d suffered when she was younger, Rose-Ann turned to drugs and alcohol. One night while intoxicated, she walked into a home and brandished a butter knife. She was later arrested at her parents’ residence, with the incident resulting in her banishment from her home community.
Rose-Ann subsequently relocated to Val-d’Or, Québec, where she was living at the time of her death.
MURDER:
On November 6, 1991, Rose-Ann was with six people at a bar, located within a Val-d’Or motel.
At one point during the outing, the 24-year-old got into an argument with two women, which turned violent outside. According to Québec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), the pair assaulted Rose-Ann. Injured, but still conscious, she fell into a nearby creek. While she’d reportedly called for help, the two women left without coming to her aid.
Reports state workers delivering beer to the bar noticed Rose-Ann, but didn’t help her, as they believed she was drunk and sleeping the night off.
On November 16, Rose-Ann’s body was found frozen beneath a few centimetres of snow. She was lying in the fetal position, with her hands covering her face. The coroner’s office stated the cause of death was hypothermia, with injuries noted to her ribs, face, head and collarbone. These, however, were not believed to have contributed to her passing.
Given the circumstances, Rose-Ann’s death was classified as manslaughter.
INVESTIGATION:
Rose-Ann’s murder was initially handled by the now-defunct Sûreté municipal de Val d’Or, which her family claims didn’t conduct a thorough investigation. It’s reported that one of the initial detectives in charge had recommended charges be brought against the two women accused of assaulting the 24-year-old, as they’d “beat her and abandoned her”, but this never occurred.
The case is currently being investigated by the Sûreté du Québec, the province’s law enforcement entity. New information was received in 2008, and the investigation was renewed in ’17. At that time, officers met with Rose-Ann’s family and conducted interviews with individuals from Val-d’Or and the surrounding communities. While new information was gleamed from these efforts, there wasn’t enough evidence to bring about charges.
Over the decades, Rose-Ann’s family has heard little from those in charge of investigating her murder. They claim a friend gave them the name of someone allegedly involved in her murder, but that authorities never did anything with this information.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Rose-Ann Blackned is asked to contact the Sûreté du Québec at either (514) 598-4848 or +1 (877) 598-848.
Image Credit: CBC
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