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Stabbing victim witnessed domestic fight: police

By: Kevin Rollason

4/12/2009 11:20 AM | Comments: 27

WINNIPEG - A Winnipeg teenager was fatally stabbed before he could intervene in a domestic dispute between a couple in a bus shelter.

Winnipeg police said Jessie Jules Pierre McKenzie, 17, and his 16-year-old friend, were inside a bus shelter on Main Street near Euclid Avenue when a man and woman began arguing on Thursday at about 6 p.m.

"There was no indication he intervened, but he certainly might have been contemplating it," police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said today.

"Maybe it was sensed by the other... there may have been some conversations with thoughts of intervening.

"But this (knife) attack was unprovoked."

Police said the suspect is described as aboriginal, in his twenties or thirties, 5-10 to 5-11, medium build, and wearing dark clothing.

The woman is described as aboriginal, 5-5 to 5-8, long dark hair in a ponytail, medium build, and wearing a light coloured jacket.

The couple, and the teen’s friend, fled the scene after the stabbing.

Police said McKenzie staggered outside the bus shelter and was spotted by a transit bus passengers and driver who called 911.
McKenzie was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries but died.

It is the city’s 26th homicide of 2009.

Michalyshen said at first police were looking for two men in connection with the stabbing, but received new information after finally finding the teen’s friend and interviewing him.

Police are also looking for a witness who left the scene before police arrived. The witness may possess valuable information about the stabbing. The witness is described as a Caucasian male, between 40 and 60 years old, 5-5 to 5-6, with short grey or white hair and a heavy build. He was wearing large glasses, an old dark blue baseball cap and a dark bomber-style jacket.

The investigation is continuing by members of the Homicide Unit.

Anyone with information about the stabbing or the witness should contact police at 986-6508 or CrimeStoppers at 786-TIPS (8477).

History

Updated on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 3:54 PM CST:
Adds details of investigation

Updated on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 4:30 PM CST:
Adds domestic assault angle, and quotes from police

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27 Commentscomment icon

OMG people talk about these kinds of situations like we should all come accustom to them no wonder thi stuff is happening more n more in my own opinion they need to gather up these so called "gangbangers" n put them outskirts and use our tax dollars to build a hardcore military style boot camp not this myc crap and when the adults mess up and get into the same stuff they too should be thrown outta the city into the bush put to hard military style punishment nvm this oooh now you spent so many years in jail and so now u can go back to society caue u spent so many years thinking and praying give me a break these kinds of people rarely change they cant take back the already pain they caused for families and they cant take bakc the hurt they inflicted when they thought being hard was cool!

@ Mahogany

I'm moving out to rural MB. Where my car won't get broken into once every few months, no crazy drivers that are a liability to everyone and most importantly away from the constant threats of murders and assaults.

Here's what I think said: His friend ran away to.........sounds suspicious, maybe he was involved


Does it occur to you that he may not have wanted to be attacked by a knife 21 days before xmas?

how very COLD, it really is out there !!!

R.I.P Young Man

I love the apologists who try to relativize and minimize the senseless homicide of a young man who was trying to be a good samaritan. 'It's like this in other cities'. Does that mean we should accept Winnipeg becoming like Detroit? How many stabbings took place in Winnipeg this week? What other cities have suspects that are routinely identified as "aboriginal in appearance?" People want to tell themselves Winnipeg is no worse than other cities because they can't accept the reality of living in the Homicide Capital of Canada. People want to believe its poverty that caused this murder and maybe they need that leftwing, social worker narrative to insulate themselves; or maybe some people just want to exploit violent criminal behavior for the political ends of redistributing wealth.

A young man tried to do the right thing and he was brutally stabbed for his noble efforts. And more than a few people want you to accept that man's murder as collateral damage in the war on poverty. Some people want you to feel banal to the nightly carnage on the streets of Winnipeg, they want you to stifle your righteous indignation. They want you to walk away the next time you see a woman being accosted in public by an angry partner. Caring kills, that's their moral to this story. Sure, go spend millions rescuing polar bears. Go cut your carbon emissions. It's a lot easier to save the environment than to save our city.

I'm glad I am 71 years old, but worry about my grandchildren's safety.

re: Mom3Boys,

Every comment that you leave always asserts some perpetual decline in the fabric of society - here you cite a "continual, slow slide into hell..." However, leaving comments does not amount to societal change either. Every statement made by yourself is nothing more than defamatory and a clear-cut example of hyperbole at work.

We do have troops in Afghanistan - and may we wish them the best, especially in the holiday season; these wishes go out to your families as well - however you cannot associate our objectives abroad with anything related to Canada in a domestic sense. Our gangs are quite different from international terrorist and paramilitary organizations, and in this sense this issue was ISOLATED. It was a "domestic fight" as the story declares, and not an act of a domestic terrorist organization - grow up, and PLEASE tone down your statements.

It is a shame that this young man has been taken from his family, and from us all. May we wish his family all the best in the future. Seek strength in family and memories. God bless.

Wow I am still in shock. Can't believe this happend to my good childhood friend. I'm going to miss you Jessie aka Big Head. Its so hard to believe your gone. I remember when we were younger and used to hang around my house everyday, just chilling out, shooting da sh*t. Always going to be in my heart bro always going to be remember'd. As if this had to happen to you.

R.I.P
Jessie McKenzie aka Big Head =(

i lived in the north end all my life,and crime is up,stuff like this is happen every week

Nice for you, Mahogany, and those like you, that you can "avoid" our area of town, and the crime and the people in it. Although I can afford to live anywhere in the city, I live and work in the North End, and I do so by choice. I care about the people here and want to make a difference in my community. I've lived in many cities and I can truthfully say I've never met more decent, honest, and caring people than those I've met here. You think you're safe in your suburban cocoons, but think again. As we make our inner-city communities stronger and take them back from the criminal element, the bad guys are going to go somewhere else. It's happening already. Your neighbourhood could be next. Better you should get politically active and press for change and improvements in our social structure that will provide the poor and disadvantaged with opportunities to improve their lives, so that a life of crime is not their only option. Go to the Make Poverty History website and see how you can help, instead of merely stepping delicately around us.

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My heartfelt sympathies to this boys Mother.

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