Oil patch victim shot to death

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This article was published 02/07/2008 (6534 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RCMP are still investigating the shooting death of 44-year-old man near Reston, Man., but say public safety is not at risk.

The body of Dean Russell Coulter was found at a residence in the RM of Pipestone, RCMP say. An autopsy conducted at the Brandon General Hospital Tuesday found the cause of death to be gunshot wounds.

No charges have been laid, but RCMP say they have no reason to believe there is a public threat in connection with the shooting.

Coulter’s death stunned family members in the nearby town of Virden.

“It’s hard on everybody,” said Coulter’s stepfather, John Gray, who learned of the death late Monday. “It was kind of a shocker.”

Gray said Coulter worked as a pipeline consultant in the oil industry, and lived on a farm site between the towns of Reston and Sinclair with his wife Wendy, 14-year-old son Jesse, and 12-year-old daughter Jodie.

“He had a good sense of humour and a super personality,” he said. “He just doted on his kids.”

Gray declined to comment on specifics of the death, citing the police investigation, but said he knows little at this point.

He said he met with Wendy and the children Tuesday afternoon, all of whom are having a difficult time coming to grips with the death.

“It’s pretty rough on them,” he said.

The death is being investigated by Reston RCMP, the RCMP serious crime unit, the Brandon major crime unit, and the Dauphin forensic identification services.

Reston, located in Manitoba’s oil patch, is near the Saskatchewan border, about 110 kilometres southwest of Brandon.

lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca