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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Arborg-area man succumbs to injuries from brutal assault

Found badly beaten; crime still a mystery

By: Jen Skerritt

Posted: 07/8/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 07/8/2012 5:30 PM | Updates

Braden Bjornson

He was about to spend Canada Day with his family before a brutal attack left him clinging to life with a severe brain injury.

Now, an Arborg-area family is mourning 20-year-old Braden Bjornson, who died in hospital Friday morning.

"He was a great kid. Fun-loving, outgoing," said Jacquie Bjornson, Braden's mom. "It's horrible. We have no son."

Braden was found lying on the ground on Machray Avenue in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, June 29. He was suffering from severe injuries to his upper body and was taken to hospital in critical condition around 4:45 a.m.

Police said Sunday they were still investigating the attack.

Some media reports quoted neighbours who alleged a fight broke out late Thursday over a case of beer.

Jacquie said she believes those reports are false. She said Braden had been working the late shift at Westland Construction and left work shortly after midnight.

She said the family doesn't know where he was going or how he ended up on Machray near Charles Street.

"We don't know why his body was found there," she said.

She said police told the family they believe Braden was beaten with a weapon and are still trying to piece together what prompted the attack. His mother said Braden suffered a severe head injury and the outlook for recovery was "not good" from day one.

Danielle Dunkley, Braden's girlfriend, said she does not know what led him to Machray Avenue that night, as Braden always drove home after work.

Police have not made any arrests.

"Braden wasn't only my boyfriend, he was my best friend," Dunkley said in a Facebook message. "Knowing that he's gone breaks my heart into a million little pieces."

Braden grew up in Arborg and was the second-youngest of four siblings. He has two older sisters and one younger sister.

Jacquie said her son loved playing hockey and moved to Winnipeg to attend the University of Manitoba. Though he had initially planned to study agriculture, Jacquie said Braden dropped out and began working in construction last October.

He bought his first home on Pritchard Avenue in May.

Jacquie said her son visited Arborg nearly every weekend and was slated to come home for the long weekend and ride his ATV with his father.

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 8, 2012 A4

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Updated on Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 5:30 PM CDT: confirmed police still investigating Sunday

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