23 | | durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, August 25, 2022 | Auditions / interviews are on September 10th and we are accepting new students (aged 11-21) on all instruments. The La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra has been bringing youth together and performing concerts for 23 years. Members in need of financial assistance can apply for LJYO bursaries. For all of the information that you need, visit www.ljyo.ca or call 905-373-8994 L A J E U N E S S E YO U T H O R C H E S T R A M u s i c F o r L I f e Sheena Jackson was more than just SIU case file #21-PFD-244. Originally from Oshawa, she was a daughter, a sister, a partner, a grieving mother. She was a survivor who had dreams of someday writing a book about her extensive travels. But 38-year-old Sheena's life was cut short on Aug. 5, 2021 when she was fatally shot four times by Almaguin OPP officers, according to an Aug. 23, 2022 report from the Special Investigations Unit. The police watchdog was called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding Sheena's death following the OPP's response to a call of an "unwanted person" at Ye Old Cutter Camp, a campground in Burk's Falls where Sheena loved to spend her summers. A year after her death, the SIU found the two OPP officers who fatally shot the mother of three did not commit a criminal offence. Days before the SIU ruling, Almaguin News spoke with Sheena's mother Melanie Jackson about her daughter's life and the impact her untimely death has had. "Her passing has left such a big hole in my heart," Melanie said. "All I have left are pictures and memories." Melanie, who lives in Oshawa, read from the tear-stained pages of a notebook in which she has written the story of her daughter's life in preparation to speak with our reporter. "I will be my daughter's voice," Melanie said. "Sheena and I always had a close relationship, no matter what life put us through. We always say, 'I love you.' We said that in good times and in bad times." Following the release of the SIU report, Melanie said: "I am not pleased with the investigation." According to investigators, "there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either (officer) committed a criminal offence in connection with (Sheena's) death." Roger Jackson, Sheena's older brother, is blunt in his assessment of the report, calling the results of the investigation "disgusting." According to the SIU report, director Joseph Martino stated the SIU was satisfied that the officers acted reasonably when they sought to protect themselves from "a potentially lethal attack with a resort to lethal force of their own," leaving no basis for proceeding with criminal charges in this case. "I'm appalled," Roger continued. "My sister was a good person. She'd do anything to help anyone." "Words can't describe how angry I am, how frustrated I am," he said. "I'm not myself anymore. I miss my sister." Just six-and-a-half weeks before her death, Sheena's 20-year-old daughter, Chloe Kreisz, died of an overdose. It was the second child Sheena buried after losing her six- year-old son Kurtis to brain cancer in 2010. "If those cops had a quarter of the heart (Sheena) had, they wouldn't have done this," he said. "And my sister would be in the car with me and my mom and we'd be going to my grandma's on her 77th birthday and we wouldn't be crying." Melanie vividly remembers the last conversation she had with her daughter, just hours before she was fatally shot. Sheena, struggling with Chloe's death, had called her mother for help. "'Mom, I'm having a really rough time,'" Melanie recalled her daughter saying over the phone. "'Could you please come and pick me up in Burk's Falls?' "She was a grieving mom, grieving the loss of her daughter," Melanie said. "That was the last time we ever spoke." The following day, Aug. 6, 2021, Melanie received a phone call from a resident of the campground who had called to break the news that her daughter had been shot by police and died. "I dropped to my knees and cried," she recalled. "I was in shock. I just didn't know what to do." A year on from the tragic circumstances surrounding Sheena's death -- which, despite the SIU re- port, are still unclear to the Jackson family -- Melanie is choosing to focus on her memories of Sheena. She remembers her daughter's love of camping and the outdoors, her love for her own children, one of whom survives her. And, when butterflies come to visit Melanie in her garden, she knows it means her daughter's spirit is nearby. Adding to her own memories, Melanie says residents of the campground reached out after Sheena's death to share their stories of the time they spent with her. "I was so blessed to have had such a beautiful daughter," she said. "My daughter became a beautiful young lady; very kind- hearted and always wanting to help others." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Our reporter wanted to share with readers an update on Sheena Jackson's case and to tell the story of the hole left in her family following her death at the hands of police. 'I WILL BE MY DAUGHTER'S VOICE' Melanie Jackson, Sheena Jackson's mother, says she spoke to her daughter last just hours before she was shot. Melanie Jackson photo SARAH COOKE scooke@metroland.com NEWS SIU INVESTIGATION INTO OSHAWA NATIVE'S DEATH LAUNCHED ON AUG. 6, 2021