News briefs for Thursday, April 6, 2023

Brady Road landfill still closed

9:57 AM

The city says the Brady Road landfill and 4R Depot continues to be closed after the body of a woman was found there on Monday.

Linda Beardy, a mother of four from Lake St. Martin First Nation, was found on Monday about two hours after being deposited by a garbage truck in the landfill’s active area.

Police continue to investigate what they have called her “suspicious death” and the landfill is closed until further notice.

Armoured truck hits Portage Avenue skywalk pillar, flips

11:13 AM

Winnipeg police are investigating after an armoured security truck flipped after striking a support pillar for a Portage Avenue skywalk early Thursday.

Major crimes investigators think someone may have taken property from the vehicle after it flipped, police said.

Police officers on patrol came across the scene at about 1 a.m. on westbound Portage Avenue near Carlton Street. The truck had hit a concrete pillar for an overhead skywalk and flipped on its side.

The driver was trapped while a passenger managed to get out, police said. Officers gave the passenger medical care until the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service arrived to take over. Firefighters got the driver out and both occupants were taken to hospital in unstable condition, where they were later upgraded to stable, according to police.

Police ask anyone with information on the incident to call the major crimes unit at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

Woman slain in Thompson

11:23 AM

RCMP are investigating after a woman was found dead in a house in Thompson last month.

Thompson RCMP said on Thursday the 36-year-old woman was found and pronounced dead in a residence on Grey Wolf Bay on March 24.

But RCMP said it wasn’t until an autopsy was done that officers confirmed she was the victim of a homicide on April 4.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call RCMP at either 204-677-6909 or 204-677-6911, or leave an anonymous tip at Crime Stoppers at either 1-800-222-8477 or manitobacrimestoppers.com.

Indigenous Friendship Centre will rebuild on old grounds

12:08 PM

The construction of a new Indigenous friendship centre, set to replace the one shuttered after a troubled history in 2018, will begin this month.

The Winnipeg Indigenous Friendship Centre will be built at 45 Robinson St., in the same lot as its predecessor, the Winnipeg Indian and Métis Friendship Centre. Bulldozing the former centre, which was damaged after a fire in October 2022, will begin within weeks.

The centre is set to be built in phases: the base Friendship Centre, where people can access resources and supports, a larger community gathering area, and finally, a residence for Indigenous elders.

The original centre was closed in 2018 after struggles with financial mismanagement and board upheaval. It had been active for nearly 60 years and was seen as a crucial space for Indigenous people living in the city.

Three charged in Wasagamack shooting

12:12 PM

Island Lake RCMP have arrested three people in connection to the shooting of a Wasagamack First Nation man on Monday.

The victim, 27, had to be flown to Winnipeg for medical treatment after he was injured around 12:35 p.m., RCMP said. He remains in hospital. Mounties initially arrested a 35-year-old man early Tuesday morning, but he’s since been released without charge.

A 23-year-old man has been charged with aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent, careless use of a firearm and using a firearm in the commission of an offence. He’s still in custody, RCMP said.

Two men, 27 and 31, are charged with obstruction for trying to enter and then clean a crime scene the community’s safety officers had secured. They’re still in custody.

Death of woman found in landfill not a homicide: police

2:33 PM

The death of a woman whose body was found at the Brady Road landfill this week was not a homicide, police said Thursday.

“Right now, there is no evidence to support homicide,” police Chief Danny Smyth said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Police said Beardy’s injuries are consistent with having been in a garbage truck and they are awaiting toxicology reports.

Police said Tuesday that the body of Linda Beardy had been found at the landfill on Monday; at that time investigators deemed the death suspicious.