Last Saturday in suburban Hamilton, a ballroom packed with people, and a dog, gathered to confront untimely death with memory.
The dog, Max, was the beloved “fur-baby” of Carissa MacDonald and Aaron Stone, a couple in their late 20s who were supposed to get married this summer. MacDonald and Stone were both killed on May 27 by their landlord, just days before they were scheduled to move out. A statement by police confirms that they were shot.
Instead of coming together to celebrate their wedding, the tight-knit community of family and friends gathered to honour their lives and struggle with the fact of their loss. Max was a presence throughout, periodically wagging and panting, long fluffy ears gently swinging.
“This is not the speech I prepared for. This isn’t the day I prepared for,” said Clare Gollan, a longtime friend of the couple who went to high school with Stone. Gollan and others spoke from a lectern beside stands and a table laden with photographs of the two and messages and art from MacDonald’s students.
Aaron Stone with the couple's dog, Max. (Courtesy of the Hamilton Police Service)
Carissa Lindsey MacDonald and Aaron David Stone met at a pub in Hamilton, the gathered mourners heard, having been introduced by a friend. They became a couple about eight years ago on a group camping trip to Killbear Provincial Park and moved in together soon after. They planned to have children of their own, in time, and MacDonald sometimes talked about moving back to Muskoka to be closer to her family when they did.
As friends, colleagues, and family spoke about the pair, a slideshow of memories played: a young Stone peering intently as he lit a menorah under the watchful eye of an adult; MacDonald cuddling Max on her lap; the couple standing together in a lake; moments with friends and family, many in the great outdoors, which both loved.
“I wish we could have one more night on the beach watching the sunset, looking up at the stars in the night sky,” said Aaron Kokoski, Stone’s friend of 15 years. The local musician played and sang a selection of songs throughout the ceremony, including Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” and “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles.
The two were also committed to their work. MacDonald, 27, was an educational assistant working with students of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board. Working with special-needs students was more than a career to her, younger brother Hudson MacDonald said — it was a passion that grew from her caring personality and dedication to helping others. Images and messages from her students were scattered on throughout the room.
Hudson recalled growing up outdoors, camping year-round, and doing seasonal activities like dogsledding. He also remembered a powerful sibling relationship always grounded in protection: “My big sister stuck up for me no matter what,” he said. “If I needed her, she was there.”
Brittany Swent, MacDonald's colleague at St. Michael's Catholic Elementary School, remembered her vivacity and sense of fun: “After she ate something she really loved, she would give her fingers an epic chef’s kiss.”
Stone, 28, was an electrician and a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 353, who had recently started working with his dad. He was a third-generation electrician with a deep love of motors and all things mechanical. Joe Brogly of IBEW Local 353, a family friend who was the first mourner to speak, said that fixing up a used BMW was Stone’s ambitious entrée into the world of auto repair. “This coincided with another new hobby — borrowing his dad’s tools and not returning them,” he said to a chuckle from the room. Of course, he added, Jeff Stone was proud that his son was using his tools.
Like other speakers, Brogly struggled to put into words the “cruel manner” of their deaths. MacDonald and Stone’s lives together “should have been long, rich and rewarding,” he said, voice cracking, “but instead they’re gone.”
The day before, a house less than 20 minutes away sat still and empty, a plywood sheet covering the front-door holeand white plastic stretched across the garage. Mourning doves browsed amid robins in a huge backyard, the sounds of birds mingling with the hum of an air compressor.
Friends spoke of Carissa MacDonald's compassionate nature and sense of fun.(Courtesy of the Hamilton Police Service)
MacDonald and Stone lived for about five years at 322 Jones Road, according to a friend interviewed by the CBC. Land-registry documents show that the property was owned by Terry Gerald Brekka, 57. Neighbours identified Brekka to the CBC and to CTV as the landlord who lived upstairs from the pair. The Special Investigations Unit states that five guns were removed from the residence.
The shooter has not been officially named by either police or the SIU, which is now investigating their death. The police watchdog is involved because, hours after the deaths of MacDonald and Stone, the shooter was killed during an exchange of gunfire with police. Family have requested that the name of the shooter not be released, according to the SIU, which is why it has not been made public.
Those gathered on Saturday aren’t the only ones grappling with what happened to the young couple. A GoFundMe started by MacDonald’s aunt and uncle has, at publication time, raised more than $32,500, far more than the $5,000 it initially sought. The 230 donations to the GoFundMe range in amount from $10 to $5,000. The money was originally intended to pay for funeral costs, organizers Dave and Angele MacDonald wrote on June 2, but will also now go toward settling MacDonald and Stone’s estates, as neither had a will.
TVO Today briefly spoke with Jeff Stone and with Susan MacDonald, Carissa’s mother, to obtain their consent to cover the service of remembrance, which was open to the public.
Susan MacDonald was the last mourner to speak. She thanked everyone for coming and told stories about her daughter and Stone and the time they all spent together. “We all know who they were inside,” she said. “I will see them every day. They are in everything I do.” Max, who stood on stage with her for a time, will stay with her, she said: “He’s part of them.”
“I will try not to think about how you died and how you left,” she said. “I will only think about how you lived and how you loved. That will be the way to keep peace in my heart.”
Carissa MacDonald and Aaron Stone. (Courtesy of the Hamilton Police Service)
The full obituary for Carissa MacDonald and Aaron Stone can be read here.