A friend of the woman who died last week in Eganville says she was a popular daycare worker and a loving mother who sometimes struggled to cope with her 18-year-old son, who was charged with her death.
On January 25, police found the body of Lisa Sharp, 48, at her home in the township of Bonnetaire Valley, Ontario. Police then arrested her son Trey Gagnon and charged her with second-degree murder.
Emily Petrini-Woolley was a high school co-op student placed at Ketcha Star Daycare when she met Sharpe, a longtime employee at the center about 130 kilometers west of Ottawa.
Petrini-Woolley says her decision to study early childhood education at Algonquin College was influenced by Sharpe’s kindness, compassion and professionalism.
Their friendship continued even after Petrini-Woolley, now 29, left Ketcha Star.
Sharp joined her young friend for two separate wedding services (one minor and one extravagant) that were split in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. rice field.
“She was a special part of our lives,” said Petrini-Woolley.
Emily Petrini-Woolley said her friend Lisa Sharpe, who was murdered last week in Eganville, Ontario, was a kind and caring person who “loved everyone.”
tension between mother and child
Petrini-Woolley said Sharpe would often come to her house to visit her young family.
Another friend of Sharpe’s, Caitlin Lukovich, who also worked with her at a daycare, also recalled a former colleague describing problems at home.
“She used to talk about it a little bit at work,” Lukovic said.
She explained that Ganion had a short fuse and was sometimes verbally abusive, but believed she had never been physically violent against Sharp in the past.
Based on conversations with Sharpe, Lukovich said a pattern of conflict appears to be escalating between the two.
Several people who knew the family told CBC News that Gagnon was diagnosed with a behavioral or developmental disorder.
Gagnon’s attorney said it was too early to comment on behalf of his client.
“She wanted people to help her son.”
Lukovtich said that Sharp and Ganion’s relationship frayed around Christmas.
She believed the two fought over Gagnon’s mental health and his behavior, which she said was causing Sharp a lot of stress.
Both of Sharpe’s friends recalled how she recounted the events before and after the vacation in which Gagnon had smashed her mother’s cell phone and hijacked her car without permission.
Friends said Sharp took his son to Ottawa to be evaluated by a mental health professional at the hospital. The boy was released shortly thereafter.
Petrini-Woolley said the decision left Sharpe dumbfounded.
“She couldn’t believe it,” said Petrini-Woolley. “She wanted her people to help her son. She didn’t want her to take him for a day and then send her home.”
Working two jobs four days a week and one day at the village chiropractor’s office, Sharp was a challenge to take on.
“I knew she was stressed. She seemed to be stressed all the time,” says Petrini-Woolley.
Petrini-Woolley said she has struggled with anxiety during the pandemic and has found it difficult to access resources in the wider area of Renfrew County.
She hopes Sharp’s death will herald changes in the mental health care system.
“Lisa tried to help her son,” she said tearfully. “Why or how does this happen? … needs to be addressed. It’s not right.”
