Man charged with murder in slaying at circular Point Douglas apartment building

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This article was published 08/05/2025 (324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man is in police custody and has been charged with second-degree murder in a weekend slaying at a distinctive condominium building in South Point Douglas.

Homicide investigators and a police tactical unit located the suspect near McGregor Street and Bannerman Avenue and arrested him without incident Monday, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Thursday.

Officers were sent to the 500 block of Waterfront Drive just before 2 a.m. Sunday and found 43-year-old Kerry Eastman suffering from stab wounds. The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition and died, police said.

Tenants and the landlord of the 62M Apartments at 62 MacDonald Ave. told the Free Press the slaying happened inside. The circular condo building is elevated by 10-metre concrete stilts and stands next to Disraeli Freeway, just west of Waterfront Drive.

Eastman was a member of Sandy Bay First Nation who had been living in Winnipeg, police said. Wyatt Darius Prince, 24, is charged with his death.

Mark Penner, the condominium’s developer and the owner of some of its 41 suites, said neither man was a tenant.

Prince had been seen with Eastman one day before the incident, but “did not belong” at the building, Penner said Thursday.

“It’s a relief and we are happy it didn’t involve any of our tenants. It will lead to some major changes for us, how we vet our tenants and that kind of thing,” he said.

“I mean, it’s pretty shocking when something you’re typically used to seeing on television comes to your community… we still don’t fully process what’s gone on and the repercussions for the building.”

An obituary for Eastman said he had seven children and three grandchildren.

He “loved seeing his grand baby whenever he got the chance & enjoyed every moment” and “loved going out, exploring and learning new things,” the obituary said.

“He was a very kind loving person, always had his big, beautiful smile on his face. He was there for you when you needed him and never turned down anyone needing his help.

“You were suddenly taken from all of us way too soon, especially from your grand babies. We are all going to miss you & that one-of-a-kind smile. Watch over of us as we learn to live life without you.”

Prince has a short record, with no prior convictions for violence.

He was granted a conditional discharge, amounting to a year of supervised probation and 40 hours of community service, after an April 2023 guilty plea to possessing cocaine.

Provincial court Judge Raymond Wyant heard Prince was riding in a vehicle that Winnipeg police spotted going 140 kilometres an hour down Abinojii Mikanah just after midnight on Sept. 1, 2022.

Other officers later found the vehicle parked in St. Vital Park and Prince, who was searched, had just under four grams of cocaine and $1,400 in cash on him, leading to a possession for the purpose of trafficking charge.

But his lawyer Aaron Braun told court the cash was actually rent money for his and his mother’s home, not drug profits, and he “foolishly” had the money to flaunt to friends.

He breached his undertaking a month later by being caught in a car with one of the other people caught in the park on Sept. 1.

Prince later breached his probation by failing to show up to an appointment in November 2023 and failing to complete his community service. He was sentenced to an additional seven months of probation.

Court heard his family hails from Long Plain First Nation.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca