Destiny Rae Tom, 21, was found dead outside a home on the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation in northern B.C. on March 23, 2013. Her badly beaten body was found early in the morning following a party the night before.
Her then-boyfriend, Garrett Steven George, 26, was charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. On Nov. 16, 2016 a judge sentenced George to 11 years in prison. After credit for time spent awaiting trial he had eight years and four months left to serve.
Destiny’s mother, Chief Vivian Tom of Wet’suwet’en First Nation, spoke about her daughter at the MMIWG inquiry hearings in Smithers, B.C. She shared how the loss of her daughter has affected both her and her granddaughter.