Article content

Candyce Chwyl Neill’s body tenses as she peers around a corner in the hallway in her apartment building. She’s more relaxed because it is daylight and a reporter is with her, but her body goes through the movements instinctively. She shields herself with the heavy door as she leaves the building, looking right, then left, before she walks outside.

“Good thing I was a soldier,” she says.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'I want to be my own hero': Former Edmonton soldier on fearing her ex will kill her and how she fights back Back to video

In fact, the threats Neill faced as a decorated member of the Canadian military for 14 years are not as scary as what she feels now: A deep fear that after years of abuse, her ex-boyfriend will find her and kill her.

Neill is one of an unknown number of Alberta women who live in fear they will be killed by an abusive partner or ex-partner. She decided to share her story after the murder of Nadine Skow, a woman who was killed inside her central Edmonton apartment on Aug. 24, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend. Neill had a mutual friend with Skow, and says the case hit close to home.