Vigil for mother, daughter killed at home in Ottawa's Alta Vista neighbourhood

One by one, mourners lined up patiently to lay flowers at the home of 50-year-old Anne-Marie Ready and 15-year-old Jasmine Ready.

The mother and daughter died from stab wounds following an incident at an Alta Vista home Monday night. A loss that continues to leave many in disbelief and shock. 

Among the flowers were two black belts, a tribute from members of the Douvris Martial Arts dojo where Anne-Marie and Jasmine trained.

"These were beautiful women who were murdered," said Naomi Eberhard, who trained with the Readys. "And they are an extremely important part of our community. I’ve never seen them without a smile on their face, they were so full of joy constantly."

Just two weeks ago, Anne-Marie and Jasmine received their black belt.

"We had been training together for three years and in the last six months you get to know people pretty well," said Michael Penny, who also received his black belt. "We wanted to be here today to show her other family her karate family is here to support her.”

On Saturday, Alta Vista neighbours organized the memorial starting at Edgehill Park before walking to the Ready family’s home on Anoka Street.

"I didn’t know them personally but I think any time there’s a tragedy like this we all feel it. A mother and daughter were lost here," said Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, who helped organize the vigil.

Anne-Marie Ready worked as a trade commissioner with Global Affairs Canada. Those who knew her describe Ready as someone who had a good sense of humour and made everyone feel welcome.

"In a nutshell, an amazing human being, someone that cared about others," said Anand Harrilall, who spoke to CTV News from Guyana. "I can’t really grasp that she’s really gone."

A trait many say she passed along to her daughters Jasmine and Catherine.

"All three girls were just a beautiful ray of sunshine… very welcoming and friendly," said neighbour Jacqueline Tokarew.

"It’s really overwhelming just how many people they touched and how much impact a family can have in all aspects of their lives," said Jana Marcoux, a friend of Catherine Ready. 

A GoFundMe page has been set up through the dojo. Several in attendance wore purple or green to raise awareness of gender-based violence and mental health.

"Three women’s lives forever changed, two of them no longer with us and our health system including our mental health system is broken and we need to fix that or we will see this again and that is not okay," said Eberhard. 

Nineteen-year-old Catherine Ready, Anne-Marie Ready's daughter, was seriously injured and remains in hospital. The Special Investigations Unit says police saw a man stabbing a woman when they arrived on the scene, and she was struck by police gunfire.

The Special Investigations Unit hasn't identified the 21-year-old man shot dead by responding Ottawa police officers.