Fond du Lac Reservation Reeling after Mother and Son were Victims of Homicide
The Fond du Lac Reservation is reeling after a mother and son were the victims of a homicide there over the weekend as a suspect is taken into custody.
CLOQUET, Minn. – “We’re a really close knit community so if something happens to one of us, we all feel it in a really powerful way and even if you know, we have our little gripes with each other, we support each other, we build each other up, we help each other as a community,” said Cortnee DeFoe, older sister of Jackie DeFoe.
The Fond du Lac Reservation is reeling after a mother and son were the victims of a homicide there over the weekend as a suspect is taken into custody.
Jackie DeFoe was known to be a jokester…someone who livened the mood of any environment.
“Even when she was crabby, she would smile, crack a joke right away. She was always just chipper all the time,” said Ashley Diver, a friend of DeFoe.
The 27-year-old DeFoe and her 18-month-old son Kevin were found dead in a home on the 1600 block of Locke Lane in Cloquet on Saturday.
It’s another case where the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women is hitting close to home.
“I’ve heard about it and I feel that these are my community members. Those are people that I can be close to and all of a sudden it is somebody that I am close to, something that I’m related to. It’s an unfortunate reality that we’re trying to heal from, trying to rise up from and protect each other,” said Cortnee DeFoe.
The Fond du Lac community has come together to support each other during this difficult time.
“I’m amazed that this was totally community drive and speaks volumes of how many people showed up. Everybody wants to heal. We don’t want to see these situations happen but this is one way that the community can respond back and be together during this hard time,” said Rita Aspinwall, Communications Director.
What will close family members and friends remember most about DeFoe?
“Her laugh. Her jokes. She’d always be positive even if she was in a bad mood. She would always find a way to laugh, make everybody around her laugh,” said Cortnee DeFoe.
The medical examiner’s office in Ramsey will determine the specific cause of the deaths.
Meanwhile, the double homicide suspect, 33-year-old Sheldon Thompson, was arrested last night after police warned the public he was considered armed and dangerous while on the run.
Officers found Thompson around 9 last night in a wooded area off Mission Road in the Perch Lake Township on the reservation.
Formal charges are still pending with the Carlton County Attorney’s Office.
