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A longtime friend has identified a woman killed on Jan. 5 in Saanich, B.C., as Laura Gover, a business professor at both Vancouver Island University and Camosun College.
Kelsea McLaughlin, who knew Gover for 25 years, said that she wants the 41-year-old to be remembered as a devoted mother to her two young daughters.
McLaughlin has set up a fundraiser to support the two children, who are seven and 11 years old.
“There’s overwhelming sadness at losing someone who’s, you know, an amazing friend, an amazing mother,” McLaughlin said. “She’s an incredible teacher, her students loved her.
“But the other feeling that comes up is anger because this felt so needless, and it’s just a needless tragedy.”
McLaughlin’s fundraiser has raised nearly $110,000 as of Tuesday evening, and she said the funds would be held in a trust for Gover’s daughters to provide for them going forward.
Saanich police announced Monday that Muhammed Basar, who McLaughlin identified as Gover’s ex-husband, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death.
Police were called to the 1600 block of Blair Avenue on Jan. 5 and took Basar into custody that same day. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 21.
The case has been designated a “K file,” in the provincial court system, which the B.C. Prosecution Service uses to indicate alleged cases of intimate partner violence.
Saanich police say Muhammad Basar was charged with second-degree murder following a suspicious death on Jan. 5. (Michael McArthur/CBC)College expresses shock
In a statement, Camosun College said Gover joined the university’s business school in the fall of 2021 and had a decade of experience in post-secondary education and management training.
“Laura’s untimely death comes as a terrible shock to students, faculty and staff at Camosun College,” reads the statement, attributed to college president Lane Trotter.
“Her passing leaves a profound sense of loss within the college community as well as those who were fortunate enough to know her.”
The college said grief-counselling supports would be made available to staff and students after the death.