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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Tip line ends on alleged killer

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/20/2013 1:00 AM

Winnipeg police shut down a national hotline Tuesday for tips into an alleged Manitoba serial killer in the cases of three missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Investigators decided the tip line had run its course.

"There hadn't been a call in over a month so investigators believed they'd gleaned as much information as they could from it," Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Eric Hofley said.

The national hotline was set up after the arrest last June of suspected serial killer Shawn Cameron Lamb, and investigators say they may set up hotlines again for tips on future cases.

The national hotline was created to help investigators gather information about Lamb, 52, who is charged in the killings of Tanya Nepinak, Lorna Blacksmith and Carolyn Sinclair.

In the absence of the hotline, the public is asked to call Crime Stoppers (204-786-8477) or the homicide unit (204-986-6508) with information.

Residents OK in pair of house fires

RESIDENTS escaped their burning homes in two fires early Tuesday morning that remain under investigation.

In the first blaze, a Portage la Prairie homeowner saved her life by escaping through a window. RCMP reported the resident was in hospital with undetermined injuries Tuesday morning.

Portage la Prairie fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze but the single-family dwelling is a total loss, RCMP reported.

In the second fire, six people escaped without injury from a burning home early Tuesday morning on Jubilee Avenue.

That fire started in the walls on the second floor of a two-storey home in the 400 block of Jubilee just before 2:45 a.m., said a spokesman with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

The residents got out safely but the home sustained about $180,000 in estimated damage.

Search ongoing in gang member's slaying

POLICE are still searching for suspects in the gun slaying of a known gang member at Johnny G's late-night diner last week.

In other weapons-related incidents, shots rang out in the early-morning hours of Sunday in the 500 block of Alexander Avenue, but no one was hurt, Winnipeg police said Tuesday.

They were called to the home where shots were reported about 2:30 a.m. and found damage in the home from a firearm.

A house party turned violent and spilled out into the street Monday when one man allegedly stabbed another man and then cut himself on a window. Both men were left in critical condition.

Police were called to the house in the 600 block of Alverstone Avenue about 11 a.m. during one of the worst winter storms this year.

"Upon arrival, officers located several people in and around the residence... a party had been in full swing when a male armed himself with a knife and proceeded to stab an 18-year-old male in the upper body," police said in a statement Tuesday.

The suspect tried to flee out a window and cut himself on the glass.

Both the victim and the suspect were sent to hospital in critical condition for treatment, but later both were upgraded to stable. The victim has since been released. The suspect, a 24-year-old, is in police custody and faces several charges.

Arrest after videotaped car thefts

A 13-year-old faces charges in connection with damage to a vehicle after the owner of the car caught the theft on tape -- twice.

Video surveillance the homeowner installed to cover his car showed a person breaking into the car and stealing property from it on two separate occasions, Jan. 23 and Feb. 6. The homeowner, in the 400 block of Magnus Avenue in the North End, reported the thefts to police.

-- staff

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 20, 2013 B3