Precious Charbonneau was living one of the most eventful years in her life. The newlywed would frequently post adoring public messages to her husband on Facebook. She was also nine weeks pregnant, according to police, and excited to find out her baby’s gender.

Her joyous times came to a tragic end Sunday, when police believe Charbonneau, 33, was stabbed by her husband, then somehow fell from her apartment balcony. A post-mortem showed it was the fall, not the stab wounds, that killed her.

Her husband, Robert Giblin, 43, was a decorated air force sergeant who served two Afghanistan tours. Giblin was found dead close to her, after also falling from great height. Both were found outside of the highrise building where they lived on Raglan Ave., near Bathurst St. and St. Clair Ave. W., just before 6 p.m. on Sunday. It is believed they lived on the 21st floor.

Emergency responders had been called to the building for reports of “a fall from extreme height.” Officers from 13 Division initially responded to the call, but homicide and forensic investigators were called in later in the evening.

Police are not seeking suspects, but are looking for more information. Still, it’s unclear if more information will be made public, leaving the possibility questions about why Charbonneau was murdered will remain unanswered.

Charbonneau and Giblin’s relationship played out on social media in a series of fast-paced milestones. They first appear together in a photo on Aug. 13, 2015. They’re married on Nov. 14.

On Nov. 27, Charbonneau checks in at St. Michael’s neonatal clinic. On Dec. 11, she makes an ultrasound picture of a fetus her profile picture. Her last moment on Facebook is a public check-in at Uncle Tetsu’s, a Japanese cheesecake store in downtown Toronto at 3:23 p.m., about two and a half hours before her death.

Giblin’s last post was a picture taken around 1 a.m. Sunday morning. In it, the couple is lying down, embracing. His eyes are closed, as if he’s sleeping. She’s smiling into the camera with her head resting on his face.

Former high school friends of Charbonneau’s posted about the tragic event on Facebook, saying she went to two secondary schools in the city, but little else is public about her life before she met Giblin.

Giblin was an intelligence operator with the Canadian Armed Forces and a sergeant with the Joint Task Force Central based out of the Denison Armoury in Toronto, Lonny Kates, spokesperson for the Department of National Defence confirmed. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 and 2007.

“The loss of any solider is … devastating to the military community and our thoughts and condolences go out to Sergeant Robert Giblin’s family and friends,” Kates said in a statement.

Curtis Quinn, who grew up with Giblin but hadn’t seen him in recent years, described him as a quiet man who “kept his cards close to his chest.”

“Rob drank Bushmills whiskey, because that’s what men drink. He didn’t speak unless he had something to say,” Quinn said.

Giblin was also always polite, Quinn said, respectful of the elderly and “held doors open for people.”

Quinn was shocked to hear of the violent deaths of Giblin and his wife.

“I don’t even know what to make of that,” he said.

Defence department spokesperson Kates declined to comment about whether Giblin had sought treatment for any health concern, including post-traumatic stress disorder, citing privacy.

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“The physical and mental health of our soldiers is a top priority for the Canadian Armed Forces. There are a variety of services available to make sure that our soldiers are healthy,” Kates added in a statement.

The executive directors of two organizations providing mental health support to veterans said they did not know Giblin. Both also said it was too early to speculate on whether he had PTSD.

“I’ve never heard of one suffering from PTSD actually murdering someone and then die by suicide,” Vince Savoia of the Tema Conter Memorial Trust said. “In terms of rarity, this is as rare as it comes, if in fact that’s the case . . . because we don’t know what the whole story is. It could have been a family domestic.”

Savoia added that the behaviour was atypical of people with PTSD because they tend to isolate themselves.

It’s not only members or veterans of the Canadian Forces who may struggle with the disorder; it affects their close ones as well, said Scott Maxwell of Wounded Warriors.

“What this case tragically highlights – whether or not it was in relation to this gentleman’s service – is the impact on family members,” Maxwell said.

On Monday, crime scene cleaners could be seen washing blood off the pavement and walls of the building’s rear parking lot.

Several residents of the highrise described hearing a loud thud followed by shouts and screams.

“Apparently a woman called the superintended to say she saw something coming off the balcony,” Joyce Hannah, who was in the building at the time, said. She said she believes the fall happened from the 21st floor.

“The super went down to help out and she walked right out and that’s when she saw the body facedown… And at that time, I brought her in and I was holding her and she was in bad shape. I guess the other one went off after the police went up (five to six minutes later).”

With files from Verity Stevenson, Michael Yang, and Nick Westoll

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