North Peace residents call for justice for Kiara Agnew

A group of North Peace residents gathered Sunday afternoon in Fort St. John to remember and raise awareness for Kiara Agnew, the Dawson Creek woman was vacationing with her boyfriend Ryan Friesen in 2023 when she was tragically murdered. 

Agnew’s body was discovered beaten to death in a laundry room while Friesen was asleep beside her.People at the gathering held signs with photos and details surrounding this tragedy, speaking with one another and urging justice for Agnew.

Friesen was found sleeping beside the badly beaten body of Agnew in a laundry room and arrested by Mexican police to face charges in September 2024 but was acquitted of femicide by a Mexican judge according to reports. 

The ruling outraged Kiara Agnew's family and supporters, which led to protests across Canada. The judge's reasoning was not released, though Mexican prosecutors appealed the acquittal later that year. 

“This man has been convicted in Mexico for brutally beating my daughter to death and is allowed to walk around Canada free until his appeal is herd which could take months possible a year,” posted Trevor Agnew, Kiara’s father on his Facebook. “We’re doing a bunch of protests to try and get the man that is now convicted of murdering my little girl, detained here in Canada or sent back to Mexico.

An appeal after conviction is legal in certain circumstances in Mexico, and in late 2025, the acquittal was overturned on appeal, and Friesen was convicted of femicide in Agnew's death. Since the proceedings are still underway, Friesen has yet to be extradited from Canada according to online reports, and protests and petitions have taken place calling for Friesen to be held in custody.

“Hopefully, with these protests, our government and the Mexican government will hopefully do the right thing. We’re trying our best, but we can’t do it without your support and without it we would have nothing, and the verdict would still be the way it was,” said Trevor Agnew.

“This was about coming together as a community and showing that people in the North stand with one another,” one attendee said. “This is about keeping attention on what happened and making sure it isn’t forgotten.”