Sarah Cotton, the mother of two Oak Bay girls – Chloe and Aubrey Berry, who were tragically murdered on Christmas Day last year – has announced that she will be running a half-marathon in their honour.
Cotton will run in the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon on May 6 to commemorate her daughters and to raise money for the Mary Manning Centre and the Chloe and Aubrey Berry Scholarship Fund.
“My hope is that through raising money for this important organization [the Mary Manning Centre], waitlists can be reduced and access to counselling is more immediate,” Cotton wrote on her GoFundMe.
“The other half of the money will go to support the Chloe and Aubrey Berry Scholarship Fund at Christ Church Cathedral School, where Chloe attended grade one and Aubrey was going to start kindergarten this September.”
“My beloved girls were taken from me”
The bodies of Chloe, 6 and Aubrey, 4, were discovered in their father’s apartment on December 25, 2017.
Their father, Andrew Berry, was hospitalized the same day with self-inflicted wounds and then arrested.
He has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
“On Christmas Day, my beloved girls were taken from me,” wrote Cotton.
“Along with myself, my family, friends and many others in the Victoria community and beyond are devastated, shocked and overwhelmed with grief at this senseless and futile tragedy.”
“With [close friends] Scott and Trisha by my side, I will be running in the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon as part of my healing and in honour of my girls. I know that they will be running alongside us in spirit,” Cotton continued.
GoFundMe Close To Reaching Goal
Since its posting on April 11, Cotton’s GoFundMe has raised over $16,000 of its $20,000 goal.
The Mary Manning Centre (also known as the Victoria Child Abuse Prevention & Counselling Centre) offers support to children who have experienced abuse and all non-offending family members affected by the abuse.
The Chloe and Aubrey Berry Scholarship Fund will provide scholarships – through the Victoria Foundation – to children attending the Christ Church Cathedral School.
