Calgary recorded its lowest number of homicides in the past 10 years in 2025, though the decrease offers little comfort to victims’ families and loved ones left with heartbreak. “Time doesn’t help, it doesn’t get easier,” said Taylor Matusik. It has been nearly six months since her younger cousin, Madisson Cobb, was killed in Calgary. In July, the 23-year-old was gunned down outside her work in a Haysboro parking garage. Her ex-boyfriend, Devon Malik, was charged with first-degree murder in her death. “It’s hard. It has not been easy. We never thought this would happen to our family and it did,” Matusik said. Her death is one of 15 homicides recorded in Calgary in 2025. The rates are down from 21 in 2024, 26 in 2023, 29 in 2022, 21 in 2021 and 36 in 2020, according to Calgary police. The decline in rates is being attributed to the drop in fatal shootings, with two recorded in 2025 compared to seven in 2024. “The amount of shootings is down. We’ve seen a decrease in the amount of organized crime activity, especially the violent crime ... so that’s had a big impact on us,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Gregson with the Calgary Police Service homicide unit. “When our numbers are down and the amount of crimes we have to investigate is homicides, that lets us pour more resources into the active investigation at the time. When there’s an uptick, our resources are spread thin, and that kind of spreads out the amount of time that we can bring these investigations to a conclusion.” Province-wide trend The decline is a province-wide trend, with Statistics Canada reporting Alberta saw a 20 per cent decrease in homicides in 2024 from 2023, one of four provinces to see a drop. “When you look at stats across the country, we are still a safe city, but one homicide is too much, one shooting is too much,” said Calgary Police Chief Katie McLellan. It’s a sentiment shared by victims’ loved ones. “Any number is concerning; homicide is a concerning statistic. I think the impacts to victims, their families, their loved ones, it’s life lasting,” said Sarah Crawford with the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime. She said victims’ families are often retraumatized by having to navigate what comes after charges may be laid in a case. “It’s the criminal justice system, around the sentencing, what does patrol look like, how long are people actually staying, or how long are they actually serving?” The federal government is proposing amendments to gaps in Canada’s Criminal Code through two separate bills. If passed, new legislation would include reforms around bail for violent offenders and gender-based violence. It’s a step in the right direction for Matusik, who is channelling her grief into change. She’s been petitioning to criminalize coercive control in Canada in honour of her cousin, who she said did everything she could to protect herself from her alleged killer, including seeking three separate protection orders. “They still failed her,” she said. “She just did amazing things and was very much a family person.” Malik’s next court appearance in the case is set for April 2026.
