Floyd Wiebe's son TJ was brutally murdered at the tender age of 20. His heartfelt presentation at W.C. Miller encouraged students to think twice before using drugs.
Making sense out of a senseless act
Posted By Lori Penner
Floyd Wiebe has worn the same necklace for nearly seven years. It belonged to his son TJ. "It was a gift for his 18th birthday," Floyd says. "He was wearing it the day he died."
TJ Wiebe was brutally murdered on Jan. 5, 2003 at the tender age of 20. He was an accomplished, caring young man with a big heart and big dreams, but unfortunately, he was also involved in using and dealing drugs. It was this involvement which ultimately led to his death.
That cold January day, TJ was told he was going with two men to look at a stereo that was for sale. After driving south past the Perimeter Highway in Winnipeg, one of the men stabbed TJ with syringes filled with drain cleaner and lighter fluid. When this didn't kill him, they attempted to strangle him with a shoelace. They eventually drove to a secluded area between St. Adolphe and St. Agathe, where they dragged him from the car and stabbed him in the neck before jumping on his chest and leaving him to die in the frigid, minus 37 air.
While the murder essentially had to do with a love triangle, Floyd says it had more to do with his son's association with people who were involved with drugs. This past month during Manitoba Addictions Awareness Week, Floyd shared his son's story with the students of W.C. Miller. His hope is that giving the teens a graphic, personal view of where drugs can lead them will make them reconsider some of their choices.
He and his wife regularly speak to schools on behalf of a foundation they set up in their son's honour called TJ's Gift.
The foundation financially supports peer-led drug and gang counseling and also runs workshops designed to teach young people about the dangers of drug involvement. The family also holds gala fundraisers which continue to raise funds for drug awareness. It is their way to make some sense come out of a senseless act.
One of the things Floyd attempts to do is decry the notion that kids who do drugs are bad kids who come from bad homes. His son, he says, had everything going for him, and in fact had a great relationship with his parents.
The last words TJ said to them on the phone were, "Love you, kisses and hugs." Yet he still fell into the trap of drug use and dealing.
Floyd has dedicated his life to helping kids keep away or escape from the drug culture. He has over 700 teens who regularly communicate with him on Facebook and his session at Miller drew many more. Many of the confidential messages he receives from the kids are cries for help.
"My goal is to make them think. When you light up a joint, you are financially supporting the agencies that killed my son. It has to be traced back to something. And you don't know if, for you, that drug will be a gateway to something stronger."
He hopes to make a difference so other parents don't have to endure the nightmare he and his family have endured. "I'm waiting for someone to come up to me 10 years from now and say this presentation changed their life. I know it will happen."
