A community is rallying to help the daughter of a young mother found murdered in Alexandria earlier this month. The little girl's father pleaded guilty yesterday to killing Emilie Maheu.  Alexandria was a town on edge over the murder of Emilie Maheu.

Now, residents are growing stronger and coming together to help a broken family mend.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” says Stephanie Cholette, one of several people who are helping organize a GoFundMe page for Maheu’s daughter.

The "village" in this case is Alexandria, a small community east of Ottawa.  The "child" is 22-month-old Elizabeth whose mother was brutally murdered, her body dumped in a cornfield outside of town.

“We went to school with her,” says Thomas Berry, another GoFundMe organizer, along with his wife Mackenzie Raymond, “We didn't know her personally but we thought as a community we'd help out.”

Berry, his wife Mackenzie Raymond and their friend Stephanie have teamed up to start a GoFundMe page for the little girl.

“Emilie was a positive and outgoing person,” says Cholette, “and anyone who talked to her knows that her life revolved around her 2-year-old daughter Elizabeth.”

For Berry and Raymond, their 14-month-old daughter Kenzley helped drive their desire to do something positive in the face of this tragedy.

“When you become a father your world changes,” says an emotional Berry, “I can't imagine her (Kenzley) not having her parents.”

26-year-old Emilie Maheu disappeared October 11.  She was last seen at the chiropractic clinic in Alexandria where she worked part-time.  Her body was discovered two days later.  This week, 25-year-old Brandon Smeltzer of Nova Scotia was charged with first-degree murder.  Smeltzer and Maheu had met in Halifax several years ago.  Elizabeth was their daughter. 

Smeltzer made his first court appearance in Cornwall yesterday, declining a lawyer and declaring he was guilty.  According to media reports, he told the judge, “I did the crime, I’ll do the time.”

“Stuff like this doesn’t happen in a small town like this here,” says Cholette.

“It hits really close to home,” adds Raymond, “because any mother, they never want to leave their child.”

And so the hope is to raise at least $5000 to maybe start a college fund for little Elizabeth.  They're also taking donations of clothes, diapers and gift cards.  They're got drop-off locations at Herb's Travel Plaza in Vankleek Hill, Herb's Towing in Cornwall and White Rock Motel in Alexandria.

“We're a community who feels very strongly about things that happen in this town,” says Raymond and that's our way of helping to contribute.”

And so while a family is torn apart by this unspeakable tragedy, a town is coming together to help.

“I think it will bring the community closer,” says Berry, “We're already close but I think it will bring us closer.”