A fundraiser has kicked off for a young Chilliwack woman whose mother was killed last week.
Irina Marenkova died on April 15, along with an unnamed man. RCMP have called the incident a murder-suicide. Marenkova had initially survived and was taken to hospital via air ambulance. She died later on that day in hospital.
She has left behind her only child, her 17-year-old daughter Alisa Gusakova.
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| Irina Marenkova died on April 15, 2021 in an alleged murder-suicide. (Facebook) |
Friends of the women created a GoFundMe account on April 17, to raise funds to help the girl through university. Gusakova has no family in Canada, and her grandmother is in Russia, mourning the loss of her daughter.
“Alisa’s beautiful and loving mother Irina has died as result of an act of violence, April 15, 2021,” the fundraiser explains. “They moved to Canada in 2013, both learned English, attended school, worked, became Canadian citizens and had only recently moved to a rental apartment to make a safe home.”
Gusakova is working hard toward entering the University of the Fraser Valley for a business degree.
READ MORE: Chilliwack teen receives $5,000 scholarship for overcoming adversity
The fundraisers call her a “fabulous young woman with so much life ahead of her without her mom (and sole support) by her side.”
They note she has earned enough credits to graduate high school early, but continues to study for the remainder of the school year. She has also earned scholarships along the way, including one for overcoming adversity.
The GoFundMe account is called Support for Alisa Gusakova, and is currently over $5,000.
The incident took place at a townhouse unit on Watson Road, adjacent to Watson elementary, which was put in a hold and secure while police investigated. They said at the time that the Makenkova’s injuries were consistent with a shooting.
READ MORE: Shooting leaves one dead, one seriously injured in attempted murder-suicide in Chilliwack
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