Mother who also lost a child sets up a GoFundMe page for Surrey victim’s family
Posted June 7, 2018 5:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – She lost her own teenage daughter in a tragic accident. Now the mother of Shannon Raymond is raising funds to help the family of one of the teen’s found dead in Surrey this week.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for funeral costs.
Sixteen-year-old Jason Jhutty’s life was cut short when his body was found on a rural stretch of road in Surrey along with 17-year-old Jesse Bhangal.
Julie Raymond’s own daughter died of an apparent overdose after a night out on a party bus. She says she knows what this kind of tragedy feels like.
“I had the nightmare unfold on my doorstep when my 16-year-old daughter died. I know what it’s like when you open the door and you are met by two RCMP officers. You know the news you are about to receive isn’t very good.”
She says the aftermath is both traumatic and expensive.
“People don’t save money anticipating that they are going to have to bury their children. The GoFundMe page was set up to help this family in whatever way we can.”
Raymond, who works with Jason’s mother, brother, and sister, says the family described the boy as a happy, smiling kid.
“I’ve been trying to maintain regular contact with the family but still respect their boundaries and their need to deal with their loss and to grieve. I am very respectful of those boundaries but I just want to let them know that they are very much thought of and they are not the only ones in pain.”
She says the family will need help for the weeks, months and years ahead.
“It’s really difficult because in the early stages of the death your house is filled with flowers and your home is full of people with good intentions. But as the flowers die people stop coming around and that’s when people need the support the most is after the funeral. People’s lives go back to normal but for someone that has suffered the loss of a child, that’s when you really need people around you the most.”
Investigators say the two boys were targeted, but say neither of them were on police radar.
