Woman, 23, charged with fatal stabbing outside Portage Place

A 23-year-old woman has been charged with fatally stabbing a woman after they argued outside the entrance of Portage Place mall in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday.

Police officers responded to the area on the 300 block of Portage Avenue around 2:45 p.m. where they found Helen Annie Spence, 58, suffering from severe and life-threatening injuries, said Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

“There was a verbal dispute that led to a physical altercation, at which point the suspect armed herself with an edged weapon and then proceeded to stab the victim,” Chancy said, adding the alleged killer and victim knew each other.

Spence was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where she later died. Spence was a member of Misipawistik Cree Nation, which used to be called Grand Rapids First Nation, but had been living in Winnipeg recently.

Spence and one of her adult sons had been moving back and forth between their home community and Winnipeg, where they had been homeless as they struggled to find a place to live, said Crystal Nasikapow, a niece of the victim.

“She was very kind and loved her family, she will be deeply missed,” said Nasikapow, 42, in a social media message to the Free Press. “I worked with her as a waitress growing up. She always told me to stand up for myself and I’m going to miss her.”

The suspect ran off before police arrived on Tuesday, but homicide detectives were able to quickly identify her, Chancy said.

“This is in front of Portage Place. As we all know, it is always frequented by patrons of the mall or people who are loitering by the mall in groups, so it’s something that would have been visible to many people,” he said.

“There were witnesses and (investigators) knew who they were looking for. They had the name of the person.”

“She was very kind and loved her family, she will be deeply missed.”

Police arrested Shante Trinity Paul early on Wednesday. She has been charged with second-degree murder and was held in custody by police.

Paul is also accused of several offences committed earlier this year, including a breach of a probation order in February, as well as robbery, assault, public mischief and several other probation order breaches, all allegedly committed in mid-June.

Paul was given time served and a two-year probation order in October 2024, after pleading guilty to a break-and-enter, theft under $5,000, assaulting a peace officer and several court order breaches. She had spent about a year in jail awaiting court.

It is “incredibly likely” that Paul has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, but she had not had a formal assessment, her lawyer Lee Kellie-McMillan told court at the time.

Provincial court Judge Rob Finlayson urged Paul to work with probation services to obtain an FASD assessment so she could access resources.

Her probation conditions included orders she live with her father on his First Nation in Ontario, that she could not possess or consume illegal drugs and was prohibited from returning to Winnipeg without her probation officer’s written permission.

Court heard Paul had an issue with methamphetamine and was subject to “bad influences” in Winnipeg.

She has several convictions for court order breaches, possession of weapons and break-and-enters.

Tuesday’s stabbing was the second to occur on the 300 block of Portage Avenue within one week.

A 24-year-old security guard suffered minor injuries after he was stabbed inside a store on July 23.

A 39-year-old woman entered the retailer around 2 p.m. that day and tried to steal merchandise. After being confronted, she brandished a knife and stabbed the security guard, police have said.

The guard gained control of the suspect and contacted police. The woman was charged with robbery, possession of a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and two counts of failing to comply with a probation order. She was detained in custody.

Chancy acknowledged two stabbings and said safety in the area is an ongoing priority for police.

“The downtown core area is an area of concern, as we all know, and resources have been allocated to address some ongoing issues,” he said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca