Man assaulted in Weston becomes city’s first homicide of 2025
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/02/2025 (416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A 34-year-old man is the city’s first homicide victim of 2025 after he was found badly injured on a Weston neighbourhood street Sunday morning.
Winnipeg Police Service officers, who were called about an unresponsive man, found the victim on the 300 block of Blake Street at about 6:52 a.m. Sunday and gave him emergency medical care. He was sent to hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead.
The last time Winnipeg did not record a homicide during the first month of the year was January 2005.
Police identified the man Monday as 34-year-old Justin Boulanger, a member of Berens River First Nation who lived in Winnipeg. His family has been notified of his death, police said.
Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Stephen Spencer said officers are used to investigating slayings early in the new year.
“Often it’s the first week of January — so it’s good to see, it’s a positive change, that’s for sure,” said Spencer. “It’s a nice reprieve, for the first month, not to have a homicide.”
He said the relative lull in bloodshed was good news for homicide detectives.
“I think that they’re always so busy, having that bit of time to catch up and investigate other homicides from this last year is really helpful for them.”
Police asked anyone with information about Boulanger’s slaying to call homicide detectives at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).
The first homicide of 2024 in Winnipeg was on Jan. 4, when Daniel Jawbone, 62, was assaulted inside a Furby Street suite and later pronounced dead in hospital. Derin Hanninen, 59, who rented the suite, is accused of second-degree murder.
The last slaying of the year was on Dec. 27 when Bryon Frederick Moose, 50, was found injured in a back lane behind Dugas Street. He later died in hospital. Anissa Christy Pompana, 33, who had met the victim hours earlier, is accused of second-degree murder.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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History
Updated on Monday, February 3, 2025 3:19 PM CST: Revises headline, adds thumbnail photo