Diana Rattlesnake’s body was so badly decomposed when it was found in a Brandon rooming house in October of 2004 that police had a hard determining when she died. (Anna Hanska)
They have never spoken out about their mother’s before but after seeing CBC’s coverage of the unsolved cases of murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada, siblings Jeremy and Anna Hanska wanted Diana Rattlesnake’s story to be told.
Anna remembers a loving mother who took them to powwows and hockey games.
“My mom was a happy person,” Anna says. “She was always laughing, joking around, always taking care of her family.”
‘Saw her as a statistic’
Rattlesnake’s murder went relatively unnoticed in Brandon. Anna says there were only a few mentions in the local newspaper. Her brother, Jeremy, has a theory about why there wasn’t more coverage.
“Probably because she’s aboriginal, and she had her demons, and they just saw her as a statistic and not as a human being,” Jeremy says.
Rattlesnake had made the paper before. After years of living in an abusive relationship, she shot her husband in the back in 1987, killing him. She was sentenced to four years.
Anna Hanska contacted CBC to share her mother Diana Rattlesnake’s story. (CBC)
Anna and her brothers were sent to live with their grandpa, Rattlesnake’s father. Jeremy says he did his best to block out the trauma.
“It was painful to have both of your parents murdered,” he says.
Anna says after Rattlesnake served her sentence in Portage la Prairie, the family moved to Brandon in search of a new start. But another violent relationship followed, and in October 2004, she was found dead in her Brandon rooming house.
Rattlesnake’s body was so badly decomposed that when she was found police couldn’t pinpoint the day she died.
Jeremy remembers the day he found out about his mother’s murder.
“My uncle knocked on my bedroom door and told me what happened. He said, ‘I’m sorry they found your mom’s body.’ I didn’t know what to say then. I was in shock.”
More could be done
Anna says she used to call the Brandon Police Service for updates but gave up years ago on hearing anything new. Brandon police say all they can do is wait for a lead to come in, but Anna says more could be done to solve the case.
Jeremy Hanska says it was difficult coping with his parents deaths. He hopes sharing his mother’s story will bring new information forward. (CBC )
“They should be trying to ask, ask around, ask other people, you know, maybe someone will come forward now that so many years have passed, but they don’t,” she says.
The Hanska’s hope by sharing their mother’s story, new tips will come forward — they believe their mom deserves better.
