The Rosary and the Rifle

On July 1, 1931, Mary Ann MacAulay married John Charles 'JC' MacKinnon at St. Mary's Church in Souris, PEI. This mother of 12 children was a busy farmer's wife, whose optimism shone through her weekly column in The Charlottetown Patriot entitled Mrs. Wiggs and Her Garden Patch. Mrs. Wiggs? writings not only identify her as an astute observer and chronicler of local events, educational issues, agricultural practices, and economic issues but also that Mary Ann was one of Mother Nature's admirers.

Mary Ann's oldest child, Estelle, was 19 years old in 1951. Not long after graduating Grade 11, Estelle was assaulted by an ex-boyfriend, Joey MacDonald. Before Joey's trial for attempted rape, Mary Ann and family sat down to say the Rosary. About halfway through, they heard glass breaking. Immediately when the sound was heard, Mary Ann swayed on her seat and fell backward. Her family members saw blood coming from behind her left ear and they then realized she had been shot. Mary Ann died on the second anniversary of her husband's death leaving behind eleven orphaned children.

This is the story of the trial of Joey MacDonald and the family Mary Ann left behind.