A woman, who was born and raised in Prince George, was found murdered in her home in Mexico last week.
Her family is now speaking out to raise awareness and demand justice in her case.
Val Vardabasso, 58, was living in Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, just south of the Arizona border, and was killed in her home on Dec. 14.
Circumstances surrounding Vardabasso’s death are still being investigated by Mexican authorities.
Initial reports say neighbours saw an empty vehicle running in her driveway for a long period of time and suspected something was wrong.
They went to the back of the house to check on her and saw that the sliding door had been forced open. The neighbours then found Vardabasso’s body, which was inside the shower with her hands and feet bound.
Jordan Anderson, Vardabasso’s cousin, said she had been living in Puerto Peñasco for many years and was working as a house sitter while doing odd jobs.
“She was living her absolute best life in Mexico. She talked so highly of her life in Mexico. She had such a great little community,” said Anderson.
However, Anderson said that Vardabasso was being stalked and had a restraining order on an ex-boyfriend.
“She ended things with him, and it didn’t end well, and he had been stalking her,” said Anderson. “From what I know it was not a quick death. It was pretty horrific. It looks like she put up a really big fight.”
Anderson said what is incredibly difficult is that Vardabasso had just been back to Canada in October to attend Anderson’s father’s funeral.
Vardabasso and Anderson’s father were first cousins and had grown up together much like siblings.
“She had been processing the loss of my dad, who is her first cousin, and I know that was really hard on her,” said Anderson. “Then just the circumstances and the details surrounding her death are just enough to make you sick.”
Anderson said that from what she understands the ex-boyfriend is a person of interest, but no charges have been made.
Mexican journalist Hector Aldrete originally published the story about Vardabasso’s death in the online news outlet El Periodico Del Frente, but has reported that the initial news story has since been taken down as Mexican authorities said it would impede the investigation.
“We just want to have people talk about it and raise some awareness because there’s that fear that it’s going to go cold,” she said.
“She had a really great community there and she had built some really good friendships but that doesn’t mean anything if the authorities down there aren’t going to take it seriously.”
Vardabasso attended Prince George Secondary School and after graduation moved to Edmonton and then Calgary, where her ex-husband and son now reside.
Anderson said she lived with Vardabasso for a time in Calgary, which she remembers fondly.
“She was one of the most sincere people in the world,” she said. “I feel like no matter who you were, or what your relationship with her was, she made you feel like the most important person in the room when she was talking to you. Like she was just so genuine.”
Anderson said Vardabasso is someone that her whole family will miss dearly.
“The fact that her life was taken from her, and someone actively sought her out. The fact that it could potentially be domestic abuse… and I feel like that is something really prevalent that we deal with that people don’t talk about,” said Anderson.
“It makes me sick to think about how she went out. There needs to be some justice in regards to that. Like maybe if we started talking about it, we place some pressure on the right people to take action,” she said.
“We just can’t let a life with such a great legacy – we can’t let her light go out.”
