'The world is a sadder place': Alleged murder of Belgian hitchhiker haunts kind stranger who hosted her

Amelie Sakkalis climbed off a Greyhound at the Barrie, Ont., bus station carrying a giant backpack.

The thought of it still makes Trish Dayman-Ross laugh.

"She had a massive, massive pack and then she had quite a large daypack that she was wearing on the side," said Dayman-Ross.

"We had a few giggles trying to get her stuff into my car, because I don't really have a very big car. And I joked that I could take her pack apart and repack it for her to make her edit stuff out."

'That poor girl. Her family ...'

Those memories came back this week as Dayman-Ross learned about Sakkalis' death — along with news that a 27-year-old B.C. man has been charged with her murder.

Dayman-Ross was one of many Canadians who extended the Belgian a hand of kindness as she made her way across Canada on what should have been the trip of a lifetime.

She gave the 28-year-old a bed in her family's home for two nights last spring; they met through the Couchsurfing website. The news of Sakkalis' death knocked Dayman-Ross for a loop.

The 56-year-old thumbed her own way through Europe when she was young. So did her daughter. She opens her home to young travellers as a way of repaying that kindness.

"That poor girl. And her family — how will they feel about our country now, forever?" Dayman-Ross says. "It's just a horrible thing."

A brief appearance

Although little is known about the circumstances or motives of any alleged crime, Sakkalis' death has thrown a spotlight on the dangers of hitchhiking.

Police believe she was trying to get a ride from the Penticton, B.C., area to Vancouver when she was killed on Aug. 22. Her body was found north of Boston Bar in the Fraser Canyon — a 1994 Chevrolet van with white flaking paint at the scene. 

Investigators announced a first degree murder charge against Sean Ryan William McKenzie this week.

The 27-year-old made a brief appearance in a Chilliwack, B.C., courtroom on Wednesday with more than a dozen friends and family members showing up to watch.

McKenzie has close cropped hair. He's a slight man.

He wore orange pre-trial custody sweats and slumped on a bench in the prisoner's box, turning his head to the gallery and mouthing a few words through a plexiglass barrier, as his supporters reached out and wept.

'Women aren't safe'

Dayman-Ross says Sakkalis was shy but she was savvy about travelling. She had worked in a hostel in Quebec and was touring by bus, thumb and ride-share.

Her Couchsurfing profile has now been deactivated. When it was active, Sakkalis described herself as open minded and ready for new experiences:

"The main reason why I'm travelling is to discover myself, to find out what I'm capable of."

"She was very into leaving a light footprint and just a very thoughtful, introspective type of girl," said Dayman-Ross. "She wasn't a partier in any way. She was just a lovely girl who wanted to spend her time in Canada."

Dayman-Ross runs her own home-based cooking business. She says she has welcomed many foreigners into her home and enjoys showing visitors what life with a normal Canadian family is like.

"I just believe in the world as mostly a good place and not a scary place where you have to always be so worried about your safety," she said.

"If we're going to really put it out there, women aren't safe. At the end of the day, a man travelling alone is a lot different scenario than a woman travelling alone, and that's really depressing."

'You could tell she loved her family'

After two nights, Sakkalis was ready to move on to Sudbury. Dayman-Ross and her husband took her to a gas station to begin the next leg of her journey.

Someone at a Tim Hortons gave them a Sharpie and piece of cardboard to put together a sign with the name of her next destination.

They hugged and said goodbye. Sakkalis later messaged to say she had made it.

Dayman-Ross's voice catches as she thinks about what she wants Sakkalis' family to know about their brief encounter.

"She was a lovely girl, and the world is a sadder place without her. And she represented the way that she was raised wonderfully. You could tell she loved her family," she said.

"I can't stop thinking about them. I want them to know that part of the time that she was in Canada she did have the opportunity to stay with people who treated her like part of their family. I feel lucky that I had the chance to spend the time that I did with her."