A Belleville teenager raped and murdered in Bermuda 30 years ago continues to be remembered on the island nation.
Rebecca “Becky” Middleton was 17 and on holiday in Bermuda with friend Jasmine Meens when they were offered a ride home by two men on motorcycles.
Meens made it back safely but Middleton was found dead of multiple stab wounds on July 3, 1996.
According to a recent article in the Bermudian newspaper The Royal Gazette, a small nature reserve in memory of Middleton created in 2006 has recently been restored.
Teams of volunteers have been planting native plants, restoring a historic wall, and improving access to the reserve.
Two men were charged by police after the murder, with one having the case against him thrown out and the other, Kirk Mundy, 21 at the time of the incident, sentenced to five years in prison for being an accessory to the crime.
Later, forensic DNA evidence showed Mundy had raped Middleton.
Back home in Canada, Rebecca Middleton’s murder, along with those of local teens Mark Fyke and Shawn Keegan, inspired the creation of the annual Violence Awareness and Random Acts of Kindness Week in the Quinte region in 1997.
See the entire article from Bermudian newspaper The Royal Gazette here.
