Accused killer back in jail day after mistakenly released

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/10/2024 (382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An accused killer was apprehended Wednesday, one day after Manitoba Justice advised police he’d been released from custody in error.

The Winnipeg Police Service issued an update to advise that Mark Phillip Traverse, 27, had been arrested  “without incident” in the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale at around 5:30 p.m., by members of Manitoba’s integrated violent offender apprehension unit.
Hours earlier, at 2 p.m., the public had been advised he was on the loose.

“While Traverse is not considered armed and dangerous or a threat to public safety, he should not be approached,” a Winnipeg police news release said.

Investigators said they believed Traverse was in Winnipeg or the surrounding area and asked anyone who might have been in contact with him to contact the major crimes unit.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said the mistake is under review and training protocols are being “enhanced” to mitigate future risk.

Police previously announced Traverse was arrested at his Winnipeg home on April 21, 2023. He was charged with manslaughter when a man died after being assaulted in Point Douglas earlier that month. Traverse was detained in custody.

Traverse was released on bail after being charged with manslaughter, but that was revoked at the end of August. He recently pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with conditions of a release order.

Leo Charles Martin-Shea, 25, was assaulted on the east side of Main Street at Stella Avenue the night of April 8 and went home after. Police and emergency personnel were not contacted until April 11, after his condition had worsened, the WPS said at the time. He died in hospital days later, on April 19.

Martin-Shea’s death was Winnipeg’s 10th homicide of 2023. His ex-girlfriend, Chantel Sinclair, told the Free Press that month that the accused was Martin-Shea’s “best friend.” Sinclair was told he was punched, resulting in a head injury.

Sinclair said she didn’t know what led up to the incident or how many times her former partner was struck.

Sinclair previously told the Free Press Martin-Shea sent her a text message the day after he was assaulted. He didn’t mention anything about what had happened or how he was feeling, she said.

Sinclair found out about the assault when his condition worsened.

“He wasn’t feeling good for a few days. He was complaining of headaches,” she said.

Sinclair said she visited Martin-Shea while he was unconscious in hospital.

“Seeing him, it was heartbreaking,” she previously told the Free Press. “To think that the love of your life won’t come out of it, it shattered me.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca