Senior found in trunk of car

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Police investigate the scene where Elizabeth Lafantaisie was found in the truck of her car Thursday in Osborne Village.

Elizabeth Lafantaisie worked all her life and raised four children -- three of whom had life-threatening illnesses -- by herself.

Today, Winnipeg police are looking for answers after the friendly hard-working great-grandmother's frozen body was found in the trunk of her car in one area of the city and her purse in another.

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Officers enter the building where Lafantaisie lived. (PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

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Elizabeth Lafantaisie (FAMILY HANDOUT)

"I hope they catch the guys who did this," her grieving sister, Giselle Lafantaisie, said on Friday.

"I hope they suffer like she did... this is just so hard.

"I just don't know why her?" she added, her voice breaking and her eyes brimming with tears.

"For this to happen to her, I just don't understand it. I still can't believe it.

"I'm still thinking that they'll find her alive."

The 73-year-old Lafantaisie's body was found inside the trunk of her four-door dark green 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix parked near River Avenue and Lewis Street on Thursday. It was one day after police sent out a notice asking the public to look for her and just hours after police sent out another notice with her photograph and a picture of a car like the one she owned.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said on Friday police are calling Lafantaisie's death a homicide.

Michalyshen said police became concerned about Lafantaisie last Monday after belongings, including her purse, were discovered.

Follow-up by investigators with family members did not turn up her location. Michalyshen said police believe someone drove the car to a coin-operated car wash on Feb. 18 -- the day Lafantaisie was last seen in the Royalwood area -- and washed it.

The officer said police hope someone noticed a car being washed by someone who was "anxious, maybe somewhat emotional, maybe rushed in some fashion, just something not quite right.

"There's some very, very suspicious circumstances here with regards to what we have located thus far with respect to the vehicle and our deceased.

"Sometimes, (out of) the corner of your eye, you do observe something that seems a bit odd," he said.

"That's what we're trying to draw from the public."

Police are asking anyone with information to call 986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 786-8477 (TIPS).

Giselle Lafantaisie said her sister's purse was stripped of any money, but everything else -- including credit cards -- was still in it. She said it was found inside a highrise apartment building on University Crescent.

"She always said she worked hard for her money. I really believe she was fighting for (her money) and they killed her when she refused."

Lafantaisie grew up in St. Malo with her parents, six sisters and one brother before the family moved to Winnipeg in the 1950s. Her father died in 2001 and her mother died in 2009.

Giselle Lafantaisie said her sister raised three daughters and one son, and was grandmother of eight and great-grandmother to three.

"Two of the daughters had cystic fibrosis and one passed away at an early age because of that," she said.

"The other one had a double-lung transplant and is doing good. Her oldest had leukemia, but pulled through and is healthy."

Giselle Lafantaisie said her sister's two marriages ended in divorce.

"She had a hard life," she said.

Giselle Lafantaisie said her sister worked for years at a dairy while cleaning homes after work. She continued cleaning for years after retiring.

In fact, Giselle Lafantaisie said, her sister was last seen in the Royalwood area, where she had been cleaning a residence.

Meanwhile, Michalyshen said, investigators are focusing on two locations in the Fort Garry area, but didn't say which ones.

One, however, was a 12-storey apartment building at 100 Adamar Rd. -- where Lafantaisie lived since 1992 -- and where several police cruisers were parked outside and numerous police officers fanned out through the building to talk to tenants.

Tenants said police were asking them if they saw anything suspicious in or around the apartment or in the underground parking area.

Henry Lagimodiere, who lives across the hall from the woman, said he has been taking in her newspapers since they began piling up last Saturday.

Lagimodiere said his last conversation with Lafantaisie was in the garage beside her car -- the day before she disappeared. "We talked for a couple of minutes about cars. She took care of her car. She would cover it up and everything because things are falling from the ceiling."

Then Lagimodiere said what several other tenants in the 55-plus apartment block said: "I hope this didn't happen in the garage."

Another tenant, a 76-year-old woman, said she was upset by the news.

"She lived very quietly," said the resident. "It worries me because that's pretty close to home... it's a terribly, terribly tragic event... you just can't seem to believe that it could happen."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 26, 2011 A3