Charges laid in house fire homicide

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This article was published 15/06/2019 (2593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Homicide investigators have arrested a 34-year-old Winnipeg man in connection with a North End house fire where a 63-year-old man was found dead earlier this month.

William Joseph Campbell has been charged with second-degree murder and arson with disregard for human life in the June 1 death of Hubert Wilson McKay.

The Winnipeg Police Service announced the charges Saturday morning in a news release, less than a week after the department announced McKay had died and the homicide unit was investigating.

He was found dead when the Fire Paramedic Service was called to investigate a fire at a home in the 500 block of Manitoba Avenue just before 11 p.m. June 1. The specific cause of McKay’s death hasn’t been released, and police haven’t said whether the victim and the suspect knew each other. 

A duty officer reached at the Winnipeg Police Service Saturday said he couldn’t release any details, including whether Campbell is known to police.

Two residents of the home managed to escape the fire and one was taken to hospital in stable condition after being assessed by paramedics.

McKay is one of 22 homicide victims in the city so far this year. In six months, Winnipeg has matched last year’s total number of homicides, prompting Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth to address homicide rates at the Winnipeg Police Board meeting Friday. 

He said the fatal violence can’t always be predicted.

“What I’m seeing is not fitting past trends that I’ve become accustomed to,” the chief said Friday.