Man arrested in shootout with Ontario police charged with killing Manitoba neighbour

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This article was published 10/09/2021 (1512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – Mounties have charged a Manitoba man in the killing of his neighbour.

Eric Wildman, who is 34, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Clifford Joseph, whose body was found in July in the rural area of Stead, northeast of Winnipeg.

The 40-year-old was reported missing from nearby St. Clements on June 7.

Officers had deemed the disappearance suspicious and named Wildman as a suspect.

RCMP soon after began an extensive search for Wildman, warning he was armed and dangerous and that police tactical equipment and other items resembling uniforms had been found in his vehicle.

After a weeklong manhunt, Wildman was arrested in a shootout with police in Ontario.

Ontario Provincial Police said when officers entered a home just outside of Belleville, east of Toronto, they were met with gunfire. They said crisis negotiators were eventually able to get Wildman to surrender.

RCMP say the investigation into Joseph’s death involved several departments, including search and rescue and air services, as well as assistance from five other agencies. More than 100 officers participated in the manhunt and the homicide investigation.

“We could not have anticipated at the outset the events that would come next — a manhunt, shots fired at officers and finally an arrest. Through all of it, our investigators worked tirelessly to find out what happened to Mr. Joseph,” Supt. Michael Koppang said in a news release Friday.

“We offer Mr. Joseph’s family our sincere condolences on their loss. We hope that by laying this charge, we can offer Mr. Joseph’s family some answers as to what happened to their loved one, and help them find some peace.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2021.