Sandra Slater and Adam Grant Howard (Photo: submitted)
A grieving mother says there is no closure when your son dies, without answers.
Adam Grant Howard , 27, was reported missing on January 8. He was last seen in Irishtown after texting friends looking for a ride.
Howard’s remains were found on May 2 on a wooded lot in Lakeville, near Moncton.
Sandra Slater says she received a text from her son on January 4 — and that was the last time she would ever hear from him.
“It said, ‘Love You’. I didn’t respond and that will haunt me forever,” Slater said through tears.
In an emotional interview, Slater said it’s all very surreal right now. “My son was a beautiful soul. This is one of the most horrible, horrific experiences that a mother or sister can ever go through.”
“I tell every parent, give your kids a hug, give them a kiss, even if you don’t like what they are doing right now, you make sure you tell them you love them. You can be mad at your child, and you just think, ‘I’m not going to respond to it.’ Don’t do it. Because you don’t know if tomorrow is going to come. Don’t do it.”
Slater says it’s a very difficult time, with her family being in three different places. “I’m in Las Vegas, I have a daughter in London, Ontario, and the other is in Michigan. All we can do is take it one day at a time, one step at a time and just try to get through it the best we can.”
She is planning to come to New Brunswick but has been told she will have to self-isolate for 14 days in the province due to COVID-19.
Slater says she has received many supportive comments on social media as she deals with this tragic loss.
“Every single kind comment people send, I appreciate every single one of them. Some have said I am lucky, because I have closure, but really, I don’t feel lucky because my son isn’t with me anymore. This is raw and it hurts really bad and it’s unfathomable. I hope I will have closure at some point.”
RCMP consider Howard’s death to be suspicious and they are continuing to investigate. Anyone with information on his death, or who may have had contact with him after January 6, is asked to contact the Southeast District Crime Reduction Unit at 506-533-5151.
“There is no piece of information that is irrelevant. There is nothing you could say that is so minuscule, it doesn’t matter, it all matters. If you talked to him the week before, or you saw him anywhere, if you think of anything, so small, call it in to the RCMP. If you are involved in this, you need to come forward and get this off your conscience,” Slater says.
(Photo: submitted)
