Protests for ‘fair’ trial for Kiara Agnew in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Protesters called for a “fair” trial for a woman who was killed while on vacation in 2023 this weekend in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. 

On March 22nd, Dawson Creek residents and friends of Kiara Agnew, a woman killed in 2023 in Mexico, gathered at the roadside outside the Dawson Creek Art Gallery on Alaska Avenue. 

Some brought handmade signs and others wore ‘justice for Kiara’ graphic hoodies to show their support for the Agnew family and desire for a “fair” trial two years after Agnew’s passing. 

Agnew was found dead in March 2023 while on vacation with her boyfriend in a Cancun resort in Mexico. Her boyfriend, only named as Ryan N by Mexican authorities, was allegedly found next to Agnew with blood on his clothes when her body was discovered. 

Her body was returned to Canada a few weeks after her death, and her partner was found not guilty by a court in Mexico. 

Close friends of Agnew and some attendees of the Dawson Creek continue to advocate for a “fair” trial two years after her death. 

“Kiara Agnew was a bright, stunning young girl with a love for anything adventurous; she loved the sea, waterfalls and climbing trees, loved scary movies and getting lost with her friends,” Shelby Lynn, a friend of Agnew, said.

“She didn’t deserve to have this ending and her family doesn’t deserve not to have answers.”

Kaitlin Fritz, a former coworker of Agnew, explained while they weren’t close, she was “protective” of her. 

“I tried not to be pushy because I wanted her to know I was a safe place,” Fritz said. 

“We were never close, but her loss is one of the hardest I’ve ever experienced in my life, and I have lost a lot of people.”

Six protests for Agnew, including the Dawson Creek one, were held on the weekend across the country. 

In Fort St. John, residents gathered on March 21st on the corner of 100th Street and 100th Avenue, and on March 22nd a gathering was held in Calgary at the same time as the one in Dawson Creek. 

On March 23rd, there were protests held across the country in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Vancouver and Calgary.