Police continue probe of ‘very horrific incident’

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This article was published 22/09/2014 (4029 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man is charged in the stabbing death of a woman and injuring a police officer with the same knife.

Kyle William Hunter, 25, has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder, attempting to disarm a police officer, possessing a dangerous weapon and failing to comply with an undertaking.

Const. Jason Michalyshen said on Sunday the slaying in a St. Boniface residence was considered “a domestic-related matter” and the man has been remanded in custody.

“This was a very horrific incident and a very tragic incident,” Michalyshen said, adding police would not be releasing the name of the 24-year-old victim at this time.

Michalyshen said police are still investigating the slaying, Winnipeg’s 18th homicide of the year, as well as the attack on the officer.

Michalyshen said the officer, whose rank or years of service he would not release, received non-life-threatening cuts “to his extremities” from a knife-wielding man, who also tried to grab the officer’s service pistol before other officers came to help.

“This was a volatile situation,” Michalyshen said.

“Our member was clearly faced with a very aggressive individual.”

Police were called to 98 Hill St. on Saturday at about 5 a.m. about a woman in need of help.

A woman was rushed to hospital in critical condition with stab wounds to her upper body, but she died shortly after.

By late afternoon Sunday, police continued to have an area in the street’s 100-block taped off, which included three houses around the home where the attack occurred.

Police said neighbours called 911 after hearing an argument and a woman screaming.

From her home across the street, neighbour Kristy Assin said she wasn’t home at the time of the incident but arrived home a few hours later.

“I thought my house had burned down, the way the (police) tape was,” said Assin, who had been out of town. “They had it all taped off around here; I had to have my ride drop me off over there (a few houses down). So I talked to the officers, ‘Is my house OK?’ and they said it was. I said, ‘Oh my God, I hope it’s not one of my neighbours,’ and they said that something bad had happened here.”

Assin said she has been renting her suite for about two years.

“It’s really quiet street. There’s a lot of really nice people here. We have a lot of elderly people on our street and our neighbours here are just great,” she said.

She said the couple had moved in about a month ago.

‘(The officer) was clearly faced with

a very

aggressive individual’

“I saw them move in and they seemed pretty decent but I never met them (the couple). I saw them together a lot. I’d only see her sometimes going out to her car; she was very quiet.”

She said she saw police bring out an industrial-sized wrench in a plastic bag.

“I saw them bring out a huge wrench like what you’d see on tow trucks. I heard from people around here that it was an axe (that killed her) but it doesn’t really matter what it was, she’s gone,” Assin said.

“It’s so awful.”

Michalyshen, responding to earlier media reports about an axe being used during the slaying, said a knife was the weapon used against the woman and the police officer outside.

Another woman, who parked on the street before speaking briefly to police guarding the crime scene, said she was the slain woman’s friend.

“She’s gorgeous — it’s unfortunate it happened to her,” said the woman, who declined to give her name.

“Her family called me this morning (Sunday). I hadn’t heard before that. I found out today.”

The woman said she last saw her friend about a month ago. She said her friend had been in a relationship with the man accused of her slaying, but she wouldn’t say anything about how the relationship was going.

“I don’t want to say anything about the relationship,” she said before leaving the crime scene.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca