‘We don’t take things for granted’: Erickson attack victim on healing path, anticipating court case

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This article was published 08/12/2023 (680 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It has been a long road to recovery for Candace McMunn.

Life for the expectant mother is slowly returning to normal — seven months after she was targeted in a violent attack that left her gravely wounded inside the basement of her Erickson home.

McMunn (formerly Richardson) was roughly one-month pregnant, alone and asleep when an assailant broke into her home and randomly attacked her with a knife, slashing her throat and leaving her to die.

The June 6 incident rocked the rural community, located roughly 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, with even local law enforcement reporting they were stunned by the level of violence.

“People are still contacting me and just saying they are following my story and that they can’t believe everything that happened,” McMunn said, speaking by phone along with husband Scott McMunn.

“Right now, we just want to thank everybody for their support.”

The couple, who are expecting their first child, said they have developed a new appreciation for life — and each other — as they work to overcome lingering physical and psychological injuries.

“We just ran off to city hall in Brandon and got married. After everything that happened, we just didn’t want to wait one more day to be married.”–Candace McMunn

“We don’t take things for granted and try not to fight over small things, because they just don’t matter,” McMunn said, laughing as she described an impromptu wedding ceremony in November that solidified their longstanding engagement.

“We just ran off to city hall in Brandon and got married. After everything that happened, we just didn’t want to wait one more day to be married.”

Hours after the attack, RCMP arrested and charged 18-year-old Carter Prince with attempted murder, break and enter to commit an indictable offence and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The McMunns have never met the teenaged accused, but will face him for the first time in a Minnedosa courtroom March 14.

The hearing — a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the Crown has sufficient evidence to carry the charges to trial — will mark the first of several important court appearances for the couple, McMunn said.

“I think the first time going in (to court) will be a challenge, for sure. They did initially say that I don’t have to see him, but I think I want to. I want to face him… I want to make him look at me and see what he did,” she said.

“I plan on doing everything in my power to make sure that he stays in jail and doesn’t get out.”

In the interim, the couple are doing everything they can to prepare for their first child.

“They did initially say that I don’t have to see him, but I think I want to. I want to face him… I want to make him look at me and see what he did.”–Candace McMunn

McMunn has been working with physiotherapists from the Brandon Regional Health Centre, who have developed a specialized program to help her regain mobility in her hands and arms, which suffered nerve damage during the assault.

The exercises will help her prepare for the daily tasks of motherhood, including changing diapers, securing buttons and zippers and holding her child.

Returning to work at McMunny’s, a restaurant the couple owns and operates, has also improved her dexterity.

“Work definitely helps. My hands are still stiff and sore and I don’t have full movement. I still need a couple more surgeries after the baby comes,” McMunn said. “It’s a work in process right now. I still have no feeling in the left hand, so that is what we are working on after the baby.”

Her mental health has improved as well, thanks, in part, to support from the community, which has rallied together in recent months to help raise funds in support of the McMunns and their business.

Most recently, the couple has benefited from donations to their online baby registry, to ensure they are well-prepared for their child’s birth.

“We are beyond excited. I don’t think the reality has quite clicked in yet, because everything just seems to have mashed together and gone by so fast. We have a lot of stuff for the baby, and also still need quite a few things,” McMunn said.

“We appreciate any help that people are willing to give. We will take all the help we can get at this point.”

Iain Edye, Erickson’s chief administrative officer, credited the McMunns for contributing as residents and business owners. The level of local support did not surprise him, but is rather an expected response in a tight-knit community that looks after its own, he said.

“We are quite a giving community, in terms of taking care of people,” he said by phone. “We do recognize that, when people are struggling, it is very much a local concern to help them.”

The Manitoba RCMP have written a recommendation for McMunn’s neighbour, Muriel Safroniuk, to be presented with a lifesaving award from St. John Ambulance Canada.

The award recognizes people who have saved a life through the application of first aid knowledge and skills.

Safroniuk, a former nurse, provided emergency medical care to McMunn immediately after the attack.

“In talking to the investigators, absolutely the efforts that (Safroniuk) made to help the victim were heroic and they do believe it potentially saved her life,” RCMP Cpl. Julie Courchaine said.

“You never expect something like that to happen (even) when you’re in policing all the time. It’s one of those shockers.”

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca