Police seek tips on unsolved 2022 homicide

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This article was published 13/07/2023 (788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police are asking for the public’s help in a bid to solve the killing of a mother who was set on fire about a year ago.

Melissa Cook, 41, died in hospital Aug. 20, 2022, weeks after she suffered severe burns.

Investigators became involved five days later, after her death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

“We’ve exhausted all avenues of investigation and are requesting your help,” spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said in a video released Thursday.

Investigators believe Cook suffered burns in late June or early July last year. She lived with her injuries for some time before informing staff at a shelter. She was taken to hospital and later died.

Before she died, Cook told her former partner her legs were doused with an accelerant and set on fire, her daughter Naturelle Cook told the Free Press previously.

“It hurts us not knowing who did that to her. They’re still out there living and breathing, and our mom isn’t,” Naturelle said in February. “My mom didn’t deserve to go through that.”

She said her mother, who had nine children, didn’t seek help immediately because she was afraid she would be attacked again.

Cook was originally from Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, about 550 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

Living in Winnipeg since April 2022, she became homeless and spent time at Siloam Mission and in the South Point Douglas area.

Police said she might have lived in encampments.

Her death was one of 53 homicides — a single-year record — to occur in 2022.

Investigators are attempting to learn more about Cook’s movements over the summer of 2022. They want to speak to people who knew her, knew about her injuries or might have suffered a similar attack.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the major crimes unit at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

— Staff