Ready was rushed to The Ottawa Hospital campus trauma unit on June 27 with serious stab wounds and a gunshot wound after she was attacked outside the home on Anoka Street by 21-year-old Joshua Graves. Graves had earlier fatally stabbed her mother, 50-year-old Anne-Marie Ready, and her younger sister, 15-year-old Jasmine Ready. When police arrived at the scene around 10:30 p.m., they found Graves, the son of the family’s next-door neighbor, stabbing Ready in the driveway near the home. According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the Ontario police, three officers opened fire on Graves after he refused to drop his knife, killing him. Catherine Ready was also hit. “All of our hearts dropped when we found out,” said Katherine Sauvé, Ready’s high school friend. CBC News has learned that Graves had a “romantic” interest in one of the victims, according to his family, and just days earlier he was accused of stalking and sexually assaulting another 16-year-old woman. The SIU said Tuesday that Ready was in serious but stable condition. Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating after the fatal stabbing and shooting of police on Anoka Street earlier this week. (Stu Mills/CBC)
Close-knit family
Sauvé said she is still in disbelief about that night, as are many others who were close to the family. Sauvé and Ready attended high school at École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité, graduating together in 2021. She said Ready returned to Canada a few years ago from Lima, Peru, where her mother worked at the Canadian embassy. Sauvé described her friend as incredibly kind and said that whenever she needed help with school, she would go to Ready. “She really had the brains … she’s so nice, open-minded,” he said. Catherine Ready poses at her 2021 graduation. (Submitted by Katherine Sauvé) Ready was inseparable from her younger sister and very close to her mother, Sauvé said, and the trio often took long walks with their white terrier, Jenny. She said the close-knit family also enjoyed going out for brunch together. “I’m surprised, honestly,” she said. “It’s really hard to believe that someone would do something like that to her because she’s such a good person.” “We still can’t believe it.” Nadia Larocque-Lauzon also went to high school with the Readys and said they bonded over music and podcasts. “She was always there for me,” Larocque-Lauzon said, describing her friend as sweet and friendly. After they graduated, Ready continued his studies at the University of Ottawa. Larocque-Lauzon said she took psychology classes there and has a strong interest in pursuing psychotherapy. “It’s something I’m sure she’ll be good at,” she said. Bunches of flowers are seen on the front lawn of the Ready family on Anoka Street in south Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighborhood on Thursday. Anne-Marie Ready, 50, and her daughter Jasmine Ready, 15, were stabbed to death in their home late on Monday night. Catherine Ready, 19, survived. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
“I hope he gets over this”
Sauvé and Larocque-Lauzon said they are looking forward to visiting their friend in the hospital, but so far they haven’t been able to see her. “It will take a long time [for Catherine] to deal with it,” Sauvé said. “With our support, we hope he will overcome it.” The family’s neighbors left flowers and sympathy cards on the Ready family’s front lawn this week. Relatives and friends are also holding a vigil Saturday afternoon for the family. Both Sauvé and Larocque-Lauzon, meanwhile, are praying for Ready’s recovery and survival. “I put it in God’s hands,” Larocque-Lauzon said.
