Relative of family charged with second-degree murder, arson in West End fire Blaze set shortly after argument, police say By: Erik Pindera Posted: 11:39 AM CST Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 Last Modified: 6:18 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 Updates

A family who lost two members in a weekend blaze in the West End learned a relative had been charged Wednesday with two counts of arson and second-degree murder.

Investigators believe the fire was “deliberately set” shortly after the accused got into a dispute with members of his family inside the Agnes Street residence, Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said at a news conference.

Chancy said the accused left the house and used an “incendiary device” to light its wooden front porch on fire, which engulfed the structure in flames within minutes.

Tyana Nattaway, 18, and Crystal Loonfoot, 48, were found critically injured on the second floor of 365 Agnes St., just north of St. Matthews Avenue, on Saturday, before they were pronounced dead in hospital.

Both women were members of Garden Hill First Nation who had been residing in Winnipeg.

“Our hearts are right now with the people that have lost family members. We have members of Garden Hill First Nation right now, they’re reeling from the death of two of their community members. We have the family members that are reeling from (these deaths),” said Chancy.

“We have the trauma that’s not only caused by the fire, from people that witnessed the fire… the people that were victims and the first responders.”

“It’s miraculous that there were not more injuries and or fatalities in this incident.”

He offered the police service’s condolences to the community of Garden Hill.

Chancy said 19 people were inside the two-storey, multi-unit home when the fire broke out. Some survivors jumped out of windows to escape, while others were evacuated by first responders after it was reported shortly after 9:40 a.m.

“It’s miraculous that there were not more injuries and or fatalities in this incident,” he said.

The two killings mark the first homicides in Winnipeg of 2026.

Douglas Wayne Jr. Nattaway, 30, has been charged with two counts each of second-degree murder and arson with disregard for human life. He is a direct relative of both victims.

Jane Flett, who survived the fire, declined to comment after news of the arrest broke.

“I’m not up to talking to people right now, because I’ve just literally found out about the arrest of my brother,” she said, speaking from a hotel where she is being provided with temporary accommodations.

Nattaway has never been convicted of a crime in Manitoba, court records show, but is facing several court order breaches from 2025. He was charged in a 2018 arson in Garden Hill, but those charges were stayed in court later that same year.

Chancy could not say if Nattaway was residing in the house at the time of the blaze. The police spokesman said he did not know what caused the argument between family members or whether it involved a physical fight.

“Regardless of what it was — whether it was verbal or physical — we want to bring attention to this, this is not a way to settle any kind of dispute… Certainly not by setting fire to a residence,” said Chancy.

Police identified Loonfoot as Crystal Mary Allen Beardy, but Flett told the Free Press on Monday that her married surname was Loonfoot.

“We were all still sleeping. The fire was going really fast,” Flett, 62, previously said. “We didn’t have time to think about anything.”

Flett said she initially believed 16 people were in the rented house — eight on the main floor and eight upstairs — including a one-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.

Video footage of the fire showed a man sitting on the edge of the porch’s roof, shrouded in black smoke just metres from flames, after climbing through a window. A second man stumbled into the street while firefighters, who just arrived, got hoses and a ladder from their truck.

Chancy praised neighbours who assisted as the residents fled the flames.

“Some of the neighbours came (to) help, provided some clothing and even some temporary shelter themselves,” said Chancy. “I do have to commend them for that.”

Homicides by arson are uncommon but not unprecedented in Winnipeg.

Most recently, Geda Wodisso, 49, and Zenabu Gula, 38, died after the House of Covenant International Church at 1410 Main St. was lit ablaze on Sept. 14, 2024. The married couple lived above the church in an apartment suite.

Alex Donald Courchene, who didn’t know the victims, was arrested days later and charged with second-degree murder and arson offences. He has yet to stand trial, records show.

On Christmas Day in 2022, then-26-year-old Ethan Powderhorn lit a blaze in his suite in the Warwick Apartments on Qu’Appelle Avenue, ultimately killing fellow residents Roger Glen Doblej, 63, and Suzanne Helen McCooeye, 70.

Powderhorn, who court heard has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and a fascination with fire, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2024.

— with files from Tyler Searle

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca