Community rallies to support son, family of Teulon murder victim

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2025 (416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who was fatally shot in his Teulon home has been publicly identified, as community members raise funds to support his family.

Sean Lawson, 37, was found in his home by Stonewall RCMP on 7th Avenue Southeast late on the night of July 13. He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and later pronounced dead.

A donation fund at Access Credit Union has been created to support Lawson’s 12-year-old son, a Facebook post made Friday night said.

The money raised will pay for counselling and other resources for his son and family members, along with contributing to a post-secondary education fund.

Richelle Rae-Anne, a friend of Lawson’s, said his death robbed people of their father, son and brother.

“It’s heart-shattering that this senseless and horrific crime could happen to such an amazing human being,” she wrote in a different Facebook post. “Sean was one of the best humans I’ve ever known.”

Debbie Kozyra, one of the fundraiser’s organizers, said the tight-knit Interlake community is still reeling after Lawson’s slaying.

She said people have rallied around the family to support them and came up with the fundraiser idea for the son.

“Bottom line is, we want to make sure that we do something to help the boy, and he’s going to need a lot of support,” she told the Free Press Saturday.

“This is going to be something that’s going to take him a long, long time to get over. His father was his rock, and it’s just very traumatic.”

Kozyra said neighbours and family were the first ones at the homicide scene, and that has been devastating to their mental health. They need strong emotional support, she said.

Kozyra said Lawson’s family has requested privacy as they grieve Lawson’s death.

Donavin Skogan, 24, of Traverse Bay, was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and intimidation of a witness. He was also charged Monday with numerous firearms-related and driving offences.

Lawson’s family told the Free Press the two men had never met.

At the time of the slaying, Skogan was out on bail for charges from this fall, including multiple weapons offences, possession of property obtained by crime, driving while prohibited and dangerous driving.

Kozyra said the community is calling for bail reform after learning about Skogan’s release.

“This is not the first situation that this has happened,” she said. “It’s time for some revamping.”

Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman MP James Bezan, who is from Teulon, wrote about the case on Facebook on Saturday.

“It’s time to tip the scales of justice back in favour of law-abiding Canadians, not criminals. Let’s keep our communities safe,” he wrote.

— with files from Dean Pritchard

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca