Clutching a framed photograph of murder victim Jagtar Gill to her chest, Gurpreet Kaur Chahal was in tears as she walked into the Sikh temple on Friday.
"We're just giving our emotional support to the family," said Chahal. "We're doing our best wherever we can."
The 43-year-old mother was slain on her 17th wedding anniversary, in her upscale Barrhaven home on Jan. 29. Gill had been home alone when her family returned, after buying cake and flowers, to find her dead on the living room floor.
"The community is shaken at this incident. How did it happen? Why did it happen? Everybody's scared in their own home, because we're not safe in our home. It happened in broad daylight," said Chahal.
An estimated 300 people gathered to remember Gill on Friday; first at a private service at a Nepean funeral home, followed by a prayer gathering at a nearby Sikh temple.
Gill's father, Ajit Mann, was surrounded by family.
"He's so deeply in sorrow. It's very hard," said Gill's brother-in-law Kalwinder Sidhu, who translated for Mann.
The Sikh community came together in their time of grief, which included a reading from the 1,430-page holy book of Sikhism, which is customary in a death.
The final pages were read at the temple on Friday, where dozens gathered amidst photos of Gill to eat, pray, chant and mourn her death.
Her husband, Bhupinderpal, and their children were also there.
Bjupinderpal is an emotional wreck, said family, in grief over his dead partner.
Others, like niece Raminder Hens, said the family is worried about the children, and fear the reality has yet to sink in.
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