Mom who found bodies can ‘breathe a little easier’ after arrest

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This article was published 13/01/2025 (302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Portage la Prairie mother who found the bodies of her son and his girlfriend was relieved Monday after RCMP announced second-degree murder charges against a suspect.

Mary Bone said she is waiting to learn more about what happened, and why, to her son James Borden, 42, and Emily Smoke, 37, when they were killed Dec. 1.

“They didn’t have to do that. Justice will be served for what happened,” said Bone, who discovered the couple when she returned home from bingo. “Now that (a suspect has been) arrested, I can breathe a little easier now.”

Discovering the bodies of her son and his girlfriend has taken its toll on Bone.

“I have my moments,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion.

Police previously said they believe the killings were targeted, and the male victim was involved in the drug trade.

“The killings were not random, and as of right now, RCMP is not able to make the connection (to the drug trade),” spokeswoman Michelle Lissel wrote in an email Monday.

A suspect was arrested during a brief pursuit after being located by the Manitoba First Nations Police Service in Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation on Jan. 9, police said.

Preston Whitford, 30, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder. He was held in custody.

RCMP hope to bring charges against a second suspect, Lissel said.

“Manitoba RCMP major crime services, along with Portage la Prairie RCMP, have worked continuously over the last few weeks to identify and locate the outstanding suspect(s),” a news release said.

Police asked anyone with information about the slayings to call the RCMP tip line at 431-489-8106 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

Borden and Smoke were found dead in a house on Oak Bay in a northeast Portage neighbourhood at about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 1. They had been in a relationship for about a year, Borden’s mother said.

Both had four children from previous relationships.

Bone said she last saw Borden and Smoke when she brought home a take-out order from a restaurant. She asked the couple to put her food in the refrigerator and then left for bingo.

Bone said she has “suspicions” about how her son and Smoke were killed, but she doesn’t want to say. She doesn’t know the suspect who is facing charges, and was not aware of the suspected motive.

“I asked, but (police) say they’re still investigating,” Bone said.

RCMP previously said two people got out of a maroon SUV and entered the home shortly before 7:15 p.m. on Dec. 1.

The pair allegedly left a short time later and drove off at a high rate of speed. Police released two images of the vehicle hoping people would recognize it.

Bone said her son’s friends wanted to hold a vigil outside the house in the days after the killings, but she asked them to wait because she didn’t think it was safe at that time.

She said the house was broken into after the double homicide.

Borden had a long list of convictions for crimes including assaults, uttering threats, drug possession and residential break-ins, records showed.

He was facing two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, following a drug bust in September.

RCMP allege Borden was carrying about 172 grams of suspected crystal methamphetamine and about 15 grams of fentanyl, plus cash, an earlier news release said.

In January 2024, the RCMP released Borden’s photo as part of its “wanted Wednesday” series on social media. Police said Borden was wanted at that time for failing to comply with a probation order.

Bone said her son doted on his youngest child, a boy, whom he’d take to the park or out for a meal.

“He was a really good father,” she said.

Bone said Smoke was kind, and helped her do things around the house that she was unable to due to health conditions.

“She was a really good friend. I really miss her a lot,” Bone said.

Smoke loved her children with “all her heart,” and enjoyed going on outings with them, an obituary said.

“Those who knew Emily knew she had compassion for people and saw the good in everyone she met,” the obituary said. “She was funny and bubbly and liked to laugh. Emily was a big Winnipeg Jets fan and looked forward to watching the games with her dad.”

Whitford is also charged with four offences related to his Jan. 9 arrest, including unauthorized possession of a firearm and breaching an order not to possess weapons, court records showed.

He was twice handed a 10-year weapons ban — first, in April 2018 after pleading guilty to stealing a gun during a break-in, and again in June 2023 after a guilty plea to drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Portage is about 70 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

— with files from Tyler Searle

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca