Chris Abbott sat in the stands at a Hamilton arena last March, trying hard to avoid familiar faces.  

Abbott was there for the annual Heimbecker Memorial Cup hockey game, but he didn’t want to talk there about the memories it stirred up.  

Thirty years earlier, on March 30, 1994, McMaster kinesiology graduate student Joan Heimbecker was shot in her room at the Bates Residence by ex-boyfriend Rory Foreman.   

Abbott, a Hamilton homicide detective, was at the crime scene that night.  

Foreman went on the run for two weeks, then turned himself in to police in Colorado.   

Abbott, together with Staff Sergeant Steve Hrab, brought Foreman back to Canada, where he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years. 

Foreman asked for early parole in 2011.  Witnesses from the murder trial had to testify again. 

Abbott, now a detective sergeant, was in the courtroom and read victim impact statements during Foreman’s faint hope hearing.  

He told the jury how Foreman had shown no remorse.  

Heimbecker’s classmates, family and friends filled the courtroom for all 13 days of the hearing, Abbott recalls.   

“The Faint Hope Clause hearing forced me — along with so many others affected — to relive the trauma of that tragic night,” he says.  

Of all the cases he worked before he retired in 2012, Heimbecker’s remains the most painful for Abbott to talk about.  

“To this day, my colleagues and I can’t speak of Joan’s case without great emotion and difficulty,” he says.  

“I didn’t know Joan, but I met so many people who did. She was loved by all.  

“Joan was such an innocent person. Her murder was beyond comprehension and it made no sense — it still doesn’t and it haunts me to this day. It’s an absence that can never be undone.” 

Abbott attended the 21st annual Heimbecker Memorial Cup last March at the invitation of Kinesiology professor Gianni Parise .  

Parise, who was president of the Kinesiology Graduate Student Association at McMaster in 2003, was the driving force behind what is now an annual hockey game, enshrining it into the association’s constitution.  

Every year, students and faculty lace up their skates to raise money for the Joan Heimbecker Scholarship and Bursary and support Interval House Hamilton — a non-profit emergency shelter for women experiencing family violence.   

“The game speaks to our culture and sense of community in Kin,” says Parise, now acting Dean of the Faculty of Science.  

“We all recognize the significance of this game.” 

Most of the players on the ice today weren’t born when Heimbecker was killed. But they all know about the kinesiology grad student — not just as a murder victim, but as a kind and caring woman from a small town who made friends easily and wanted to make a big difference in the world. 

Sitting in the stands last year, Abbott felt a mix of sadness, nostalgia and reflection, but also deep appreciation for what the students and faculty were doing — on the ice and behind the scenes.   

“To everyone who organizes and supports the Heimbecker Cup each year, thank you. Your efforts mean more than words can ever express.”  

Abbott plans to be at this year’s game on Thursday, March 27, at the Chedoke Twin Pad Arena.   

“And I’ll keep going for as long as I’m able.” 

The 22nd Annual Heimbecker Memorial Cup is being played Thursday, March 27. Click here for more information and tickets. 

Donations can also be made to support the Heimbecker Memorial Bursary and Interval House Hamilton. Click here for more information.