Sonya Cywink
Sonya Cywink
Sonya Nadine Cywink, an Ojibway woman from Birch Island, Ontario was last seen August 25, 1994, in London, Ontario. She was 31. Five days later her body was discovered in a wooded area at Southwold Earthworks, an historic park on the site of a 16th Century Ojibway village, 50 kilometres south of London. She had been beaten to death. Family members identified her body after police broadcast a reconstruction of her face on the television news.
Sonya was born August 19, 1963. She was the second youngest child in a family of 12 children. Since her death, her family has tried to protect her privacy. Her family knows that she associated with people involved in the drug trade. Police have alleged that she worked in the sex trade but the family does not believe that to be the case.
Sonya’s older brother Alex Cywink, speaks positively of the professional conduct of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) who investigated the case and of the Toronto police who became involved because of Sonya’s drug connections. Alex said there was “no denigration” of Sonya or her family and he never felt like there was a lack of interest because Sonya was Aboriginal. He says the police responded with “humanity”, empathizing with the victim and her family.
Alex says the family was “pretty adamant” about staying informed about the case. They visited the police station to receive updates and called them to relay information they thought would be helpful. Alex says, even though Sonya was not leading a healthy life, “we valued her”.
Alex, who has worked as a street outreach worker in Toronto, acknowledges that police often do not treat Indigenous and non-Indigenous victims of crime with the respect they deserve. He says the justice system is too focused on catching and punishing criminals. He would like to see more focus on the suffering of the victims, in the way that the traditional Ojibway justice does. He said more police need to be able to identify with the victims and their families.
The OPP kept in regular contact with the Cywink family about Sonya’s case for “at least two years.” In 2004, ten years after Sonya’s murder, the OPP held a press conference to urge “specific” individuals to come forward with information. At the time, an OPP spokesperson said the force was certain that more than one person knew critical details about the murder that would allow police to find who was responsible. The Ontario government and Sonya’s family posted a large reward for information.
Sonya’s brother acknowledges that police have been “fighting an uphill battle right from the beginning.” Alex says Sonya’s friends involved with the drug trade as well as the Indigenous community were “pretty tight-lipped about what happened.”
Despite all the time that has passed Alex says he has faith that someday someone will come forward and that Sonya’s murder will be solved. Alex says his faith in the Spirit has allowed him to live with his sister’s death and the uncertainty that still surrounds it.
Updated: 29 September 2009