Cold-case homicide going to trial

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This article was published 14/04/2017 (3131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The man accused in the homicide of a Winnipeg woman who was found dead nearly five years ago has been committed to stand trial.

Kyllan Ellis, 29, was ordered to stand trial for second-degree murder following a preliminary inquiry this week that heard testimony from two Crown witnesses. No trial dates have yet been set, but the case is expected to proceed to a Court of Queen’s Bench jury trial.

The Lorette man was charged last April in the death of Simone Sanderson. Sanderson, 23, was found dead in a vacant lot at Burrows Avenue and Main Street on Sept. 2, 2012.

Until last year, police considered the homicide a cold case and released few details about her death. Last April, the Winnipeg Police Service held a news conference to tell the public homicide investigators had established a DNA link they thought could help solve the case. Homicide unit Sgt. Wes Rommel asked for an unknown male suspect to come forward, saying police believed a man drove Sanderson to a vacant lot in a small, older model two-door car before killing her.

“We don’t know who we’re looking for. If we had that, we wouldn’t be here at this point,” he said at the time.

Two weeks later, Ellis was in police custody, charged with second-degree murder. Police said they first became aware of him in January 2014 and had contact with him that March, prior to his arrest in April 2016.

A publication ban imposed on the preliminary inquiry prevents publication of the evidence that was presented.

Sanderson’s family had been vocal with their frustration over the unanswered questions surrounding her death and hired a private investigator to look into the case. Sanderson’s only son was two years old when she died.