Suspect sought in Henry Street homicide

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This article was published 30/06/2023 (1153 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police are seeking a 40-year-old woman — already wanted on an arrest warrant for another alleged violent crime — as a suspect in a slaying this week on Henry Avenue.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service personnel went to a medical call in a suite in a multi-room residence on the 100 block at about 9:20 a.m. Monday, where they found a woman dead, police said Friday.

The first responders called for patrol police officers before the victim was taken to hospital for autopsy.

Detectives subsequently deemed the death a homicide and identified the body as Falin Johnston, 28, of Winnipeg.

Johnston’s death marks the city’s 16th homicide of 2023.

Detectives also identified another woman who they believe was involved in the slaying: Rebecca Marina Flett, 40, of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said Flett, who is thought to be evading police, is considered a murder suspect, but officials have not yet determined what exact charges will be laid once she’s captured.

Chancy confirmed there’s a warrant out for Flett’s arrest.

The spokesman said he could not reveal further details of Johnston’s slaying, including whether a weapon was used, until an arrest is made.

Flett was charged with possessing a weapon dangerous to the public peace in October 2021, and released on an undertaking, court records show.

She was due to begin her trial in provincial court in late April 2023, but did not show up to the hearing. A warrant, which was active at the time of her alleged involvement in the Monday slaying, was then authorized for her arrest.

Her past convictions include possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace. She was arrested Aug. 17, 2022, and granted bail. She was sentenced in December 2022 to time served and probation.

She also has past been convicted of at least 10 administrative breaches, one count of driving impaired, and one count of causing a disturbance, records show.

Flett is described as Indigenous, about 5-4 and 160 pounds. She has a medium build and long brown hair, but police said she may have changed the length and colour of her hair.

Police have asked anyone with information on the slaying, or who knows where Flett is, to call homicide detectives at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca