UPDATE: In May 2018, Kyllan Ellis was found guilty for 2nd-degree murder of Simone Sanderson

Winnipeg police announce second-degree murder charge in Simone Sanderson’s death. After the arrest was made, Sanderson’s family came forward with ‘serious concerns’ about how the police investigation was handled.

Every time Betty-Ann Sanderson steps into her home on the O-Chi-Chak Ko Sipi First Nation she thinks of her granddaughter Simone Sanderson.

That’s because Simone decorated the interior.

“Painting. Designing stuff. She was very creative that way,” Betty-Ann said.

Beyond her designer skills, Simone had a knack for the outdoors.

“She liked to go out camping and fishing. And she liked gardening and she liked flowers,” her grandmother said.

Simone raised her son, Nigel Jr. on the reserve.

In May 2012, Simone’s son was put into the care of Child and Family Services (CFS) with his paternal grandparents, after a dispute between Simone and her baby’s father.

Because of CFS involvement Simone had to take numerous programs including a month’s stay at a detox centre. Her grandmother said Simone completed everything but continued to face barriers by CFS.

That’s when Betty-Ann said Simone reached out to her son’s paternal family.

“When someone would say something to her or do something to her she would go up to that person and ask for forgiveness. And that’s what she did with that family,” Betty-Ann said.

“She came out crying and she explained what happened… and they told me they don’t believe in forgiveness. That’s what she told me.”

Not long after that encounter, Simone moved full time to the family’s second home in Winnipeg’s north end.

Betty-Ann said Simone became involved with a new boyfriend. She started staying at his place on a regular basis and the family began to hear from Simone less and less.

She knows that Simone was involved with drugs and those who sold it. But she said it was a temporary struggle.

Her grandmother figured it would end when she started school on Sept. 10, 2012. Simone had plans to complete her high school diploma that year. She was also enrolled in courses at the Behavioral Health Foundation in St. Norbert.

On Aug. 31, 2012, the Winnipeg Police Service asked for the public’s assistance in locating the 23-year-old. The WPS wrote Simone was last seen on Aug. 26, 2012 around 5 p.m. in the West Broadway area of the city.

On Sept. 2, a body was found at an old car lot on Burrows Avenue and Main Street.

Two days later, the WPS identified the remains as those of Simone. One day later, the WPS revealed the case was now being investigated as a homicide.

The police gave an update to the public in December 2013, saying Sanderson had been involved in the sex trade. They believe she used social media such as Facebook to make contact with potential clients.

But her family said this isn’t the case.

“I know Simone’s Facebook password and I looked through all her messages and there was nothing of that,” said Simone’s younger sister Ashley Sanderson.

The siblings were two years apart and shared everything with one another, including passwords to social media sites.

Ashley is upset with the label they put on her older sister.

“She wasn’t like that to go and stand on the corner … they turn around and said she was a hooker. Just because she was on Burrows there,” Ashley said.

The Sanderson family categorizes the investigation as one of the worst.

“They lied to me about that (information) and the description they brought with it,” she said.

She said she had given leads to investigators that she doesn’t think they followed up on.

Betty-Ann said Simone’s death has taken a toll on her family. Her own daughter -- Simone’s mother Jacqueline Sanderson -- died in August 2014 due to health concerns.

“She never found answers,” she said.