(Carman) A Manitoba father has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder following the deaths of his young children, including a two-month-old daughter, their mother and a relative.
The details were revealed at a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) news conference in Manitoba on Monday, where Premier Wab Kinew became emotional as he spoke of the loss of an entire family, calling it ” dark times” for the province.
Mr. Kinew stressed at the press conference that he knew what it was like to hold a baby in your arms, to grasp the hand of a young child, to be there with a teenager thinking in graduation ceremony clothes and laughing with his wife at the end of a day.
“I think people from all walks of life, in all parts of this province, understand these connections, because these connections are sacred,” Kinew told reporters in Winnipeg.
“And this time is difficult for us right now because these sacred bonds have been broken in our province. »
Ryan Howard Manoakeesick, 29, was charged with murdering his 30-year-old wife, six-year-old daughter, four-year-old son and baby, as well as his partner’s niece, aged 17.
Police have not released the names of the victims.
RCMP Inspector Tim Arseneault said losing an entire family was an “unimaginable tragedy.” The five died Sunday at several crime scenes in and around Carman, 85 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg.
The investigation began when police were called early Sunday morning to an area outside the town of about 3,000 residents for a hit-and-run on Route 3.
The children’s mother was found dead in a ditch.
More than two hours later, police were called to 70 kilometers north of Carman, where a vehicle was engulfed in flames. RCMP said Manoakeesick was seen by witnesses removing the three children from the vehicle.
The children were pronounced dead and police arrested Manoakeesick at the scene.
Further investigation led police to the family’s home in Carman, where they discovered the teenager’s body.
In Carman, police tape marked off the front and backyard of the family’s white bungalow, where the suspect and five victims lived.
Forensic teams could be seen going in and out. Police vehicles were parked in front and behind the house.
Children’s toys and a bicycle were scattered across the lawn.
Randy McFarlane, who lives a few houses down, confirmed the house was a rental property. The family had lived in the house in a quiet neighborhood for more than a year, he said.
“You never hear anything like this here and you don’t expect it to happen next door,” said Mr. McFarlane.
The children were playing in the yard, Mr. McFarlane recalled, and he never had any interaction with the mother. Occasionally, he heard her screaming into a cell phone and said something “didn’t seem right.”
Carman Mayor Brent Owen acknowledged the entire community had been affected by the tragedy. He did not know the victims personally, although he knew about 80 percent of the town’s residents.
“It’s absolutely horrible,” he said.
The Prairie Rose school board announced that crisis intervention teams had been set up at Carman Middle School and Carman Elementary School. In the area, the United Church kept its doors open for people to pray.
The police continue to work to reconstruct the course of the deaths, assured Inspector Arseneault, adding that autopsies were planned.
“Innocent young lives were lost yesterday and we are in mourning with all Manitobans,” admitted Mr. Arseneault.