‘Best friend’ charged after Main Street assault becomes homicide

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This article was published 24/04/2023 (930 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 25-year-old Winnipeg man who died 11 days after he was allegedly assaulted by his “best friend” is being remembered for his “heart of gold” by his ex-girlfriend.

Chantel Sinclair said she is still in shock over the death of Leo Martin-Shea and the fact her cousin is accused of killing him.

“He was the type of person to not start a fight but break up one,” Sinclair said of Martin-Shea. “I’d give anything to have him back. I still don’t believe it.

“He did not deserve any of this at all. He had his whole life ahead of him.”

On Monday, city police announced Mark Phillip Traverse, 25, had been charged with manslaughter.

Manslaughter is defined as a homicide with no intent to kill.

Traverse was arrested at his Winnipeg home at about 4 p.m. April 21, police said in a news release. He was scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Court records show he has not been convicted of any criminal offences in Manitoba.

“That was (Martin-Shea’s) best friend,” Sinclair said of the suspect. “I’m sure his best friend didn’t mean to do that.”

Police said Martin-Shea was assaulted on the east side of Main Street at Stella Avenue between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. April 8.

Sinclair, who was with Martin-Shea earlier that day but not present during the assault, was told he was punched, resulting in a head injury.

Police previously said the assault did not involve a weapon.

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

Martin-Shea returned home after the assault and did not immediately seek medical attention, according to police.

Sinclair said he sent her a text message the day after he was assaulted. During their exchange, Martin-Shea didn’t mention anything about what had happened or how he was feeling, she said.

Sinclair later 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.

Martin-Shea was trying to manage the pain on his own, but started to feel very unwell and asked his father, whom he lived with, to call for an ambulance, Sinclair said.

Police said emergency services personnel were sent to the 300 block of Princess Street at about 12:30 a.m. April 11.

Officers learned of the assault when they met with Martin-Shea before he was taken to hospital in unstable condition, said police.

Martin-Shea died April 19. The homicide unit assumed control of the investigation.

Sinclair said she visited Martin-Shea while he was unconscious in hospital. “Seeing him, it was heartbreaking. To think that the love of your life won’t come out of it, it shattered me.”

The former couple had known each other for six years.

“He was extremely funny. He liked to laugh a lot,” she said. “He had a heart of gold. He loved to live life.”

Family and friends are set to gather for Martin-Shea’s funeral in Elmwood this week.

“It’s a really sad time, but we’re all supporting each other,” said Sinclair. “There are a lot of lives affected by this.”

She said Martin-Shea was grieving the loss of his mother, who died in June 2022 at age 48, according to an obituary. “He was still healing from that, too.”

Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon confirmed Martin-Shea and Traverse knew each other.

Police did not provide any information about what led up to the incident.

Martin-Shea’s death is Winnipeg’s 10th homicide of 2023.

As of Monday, charges had been laid in all but three of the cases.

— with files from Erik Pindera

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching