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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
'Why do people do this?'
Two families left devastated by slayings
Allan Crockford
Slaying victim's wife, Harriett Abraham-Crockford (right), with his sister-in-law Iva Abraham and brother James Bussidor, talk to media Saturday. (JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ) Photo Store
A violent start to the Easter weekend has left two families mourning.
Police identified the victim of a shooting on the 600 block of Maryland Street Friday at about 12:10 a.m. as 42-year-old Allan Frank Crockford.
Family members said Crockford was walking from a nearby beer vendor with a relative when he became the victim of a robbery that turned violent.
"I was afraid that something like this might happen," said James Bussidor, Crockford's older brother. Two young men were involved in the shooting, he said.
"It's senseless. There's no point to it. Why do people do this?"
He said the details of the robbery were "sketchy," but the family believes Crockford was randomly targeted.
Crockford was rushed to hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
He had recently celebrated his fourth wedding anniversary with Harriett Abraham-Crockford, a hospital worker.
The couple had no children and lived near where Crockford died. His family said he was shot in the back.
Abraham-Crockford said her husband had worked in construction and studied computer technology.
"It's scary," she said. "We just have to try to walk with each other so nobody gets hurt."
Abraham-Crockford said her husband had been looking for work, but the two wanted to start a business.
She said her husband wasn't afraid to walk in the neighbourhood and would pick her up after work.
Police also identified a man pronounced dead in Elmwood Park early Friday as Corey Berry, 50.
Berry was discovered near a bench in the park on the 300 block of Henderson Highway at about 5 a.m.
Police haven't said how Berry died, but a witness who saw officials dealing with the body said it appeared he was injured to the upper body.
No arrests have been made in either case. Berry's family released a statement Saturday saying Berry was "honest" and "well-respected."
He was married for 27 years, said the statement, and left behind his wife and three children.
"He was a loving husband and great father. Corey was the main income source for this family, and family are devastated with financial uncertainty for their future," said the statement. "He was an outgoing, friendly person who was not involved in any gang or illegal activity...
"Corey had no known enemies and was embraced by everyone who met him."
The family said he "was on his way home from a late-evening walk and was assaulted and left for dead."
Later that night, a concerned family member went looking for him on the route he would have taken home, came upon him and called police, said the statement, which asked for privacy. "This investigation is now in the hands of the police. We trust they will find who is responsible for this senseless heart-wrenching act."
The deaths are the city's 10th and 11th homicides of the year.
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 8, 2012 0
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