Victor Street slaying city’s 27th homicide of year

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This article was published 28/09/2023 (756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Homicide detectives are investigating after a woman was killed early Thursday inside a Victor Street house.

Winnipeg Police Service patrol officers were called about a suspicious incident at 677 Victor St., between Wellington and Sargent avenues, at about 3:45 a.m.

Inside the home, the officers found an injured woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said Thursday.

The slaying marks the 27th homicide in Winnipeg this year.

Forensics police in white jumpsuits and uniformed officers, along with medical examiner investigators, went in and out of the beige two-storey house Thursday afternoon, before wheeling the body to a waiting van parked on the boulevard.

The house is a rental with multiple suites, neighbours said. A “for sale” sign stood in the yard, while a “for rent” message was taped to a window.

Sara Johnson, 45, has lived across the street from 677 Victor St. for 12 years. Her three-month-old puppy woke her up around 4 a.m., she said, after police officers flooded the street in front of her home.

“There was a ton of cop cars, they had the doors open and all the lights on, and they were all searching,” she said. “I couldn’t even tell you how many cops were out.”

Johnson said police were searching in the immediate vicinity of the house when she went to take her dog to the yard.

“It must have just happened… They were searching for somebody,” she said.

Kevin, who grew up on Victor Street, said the house where the victim was found is frequently visited by emergency responders.

“There’s cops here every week, there’s ambulances like late at night, every single week,” the 31-year-old man said, asking his last name not be used. “I don’t know what really goes on in there… It’s been like that for years.”

An elderly man lives in one of the suites at 677 Victor St., Johnson said, while a younger man and a woman were in another.

The house frustrates her — it has frequently been home to drug dealers, as were other houses on the street over the years, Johnson said.

“It’s the only one left… It’s a drug house,” Johnson said. “(Customers) go up to the window, they drop down their s—t. I want them to be gone.”

A slaying at the property did not shock her, she said, adding a few years ago, a stray bullet flew into one of her back windows.

“It’s very frustrating, very tiring,” Johnson said.

The victim’s name and age have not been released, as homicide investigators are in the process of notifying family of her death, WPS spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon said.

McKinnon said investigators have not yet made any arrests, but she expected police to release an update on the case within a day.

Police have asked anyone with information or video surveillance in the area to call detectives at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca