Accused in slayings recently got out of jail

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This article was published 07/02/2023 (1041 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the men accused in two slayings and two assaults in the inner city had recently been released from jail for carrying crack cocaine and a loaded air pistol at a Higgins Avenue hotel.

Robert Shawn Murdock, 31, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the death of Carl George Wescoupe and Lee James Boulette, both 40, and two counts of aggravated assault.

In October 2022, Murdock was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon, possessing crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and breaching his curfew.

Wescoupe was found dead in a suite at the Manwin Hotel on Main Street Jan. 29. Police said his injuries were severe.

Officers discovered his body after a man in his 30s showed up at a city hospital with serious injuries that afternoon. He told officers another victim was at the hotel.

Boulette was found dead Feb. 1 in a suite on the 100 block of Selkirk Avenue Feb. 1. Police had been summoned after a stabbing victim went to the nearby Yale Hotel on Main Street to seek help at about 10 p.m.

The man, who was later hospitalized, indicated another victim might be at the Selkirk Avenue residence, leading to the discovery of Boulette’s body.

Other than saying the slayings are related and were not random, police have not commented on motive.

At the October sentencing hearing, court was told Murdock was spotted running outside the Mount Royal Hotel on Higgins Avenue with what appeared to be a handgun.

Minutes later, police officers arrested him outside the hotel and searched him. He was wearing a black satchel containing 45 individually wrapped pieces of crack cocaine — about 4.31 grams — and a loaded, realistic-looking air pistol.

Defence lawyer Brett Taylor told court Murdock had a “significant” amount of trauma in his early life.

When he was adopted by relatives at 14 months, he was found to be extremely malnourished and showed signs of mistreatment.

He was abused as a child, which Taylor said was the “genesis” of a longtime addiction.

Court heard he had some involvement with street gangs, but had been trying to keep away from “negative peers” while in custody.

He was sentenced to 156 days, but offenders sentenced to time in provincial jail are eligible for release after serving two-thirds of their sentence. He was also given a year of supervised probation and was banned from owning weapons.

Ernest John Young, 54, and Kurtis Joseph Dilallo, 39, also have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault.

All three accused have convictions for assault. Their next court appearance on the homicide charges is set for Feb. 17.

Young was most recently convicted of breaching a probation order in 2016 for twice contacting his then-girlfriend before beginning court-ordered domestic violence counselling.

Earlier that year he was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon in violent incidents involving his partner.

He was given a 60-day conditional sentence and told to complete his counselling.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera