News briefs for Sunday, February 4, 2024

Manslaughter charges laid in Leaf Rapids slaying

3:25 PM

Manitoba RCMP have arrested and charged a suspect with manslaughter, three days after a woman was found dead on the outskirts of a northern Manitoba community.

Mounties from the Leaf Rapids detachment found the victim, a 40-year-old woman, dead near Lynn Lake on the morning of Feb. 1 — initially declaring the death suspicious.

On Sunday, RCMP issued a news release announcing the arrest of 35-year-old Kara Francois, a resident of the remote community located roughly 1,000 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

Francois is charged with manslaughter and remains in police custody, RCMP said. The investigation into the death is ongoing.

‘Enraged’ passenger assaults Winnipeg Transit driver

11:56 AM

A Winnipeg Transit driver was assaulted behind the wheel of his bus Saturday afternoon, after refusing a passenger’s demands to stop on an undesignated route.

City police responded to the intersection of Grassie and Lagimodiere Boulevards in northeast Winnipeg around 3:15 p.m. for a report of an agitated man aboard a transit bus, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a release Sunday.

Officers arrived to find a man actively assaulting the bus operator, a 39-year-old man. The victim suffered upper-body injuries and was assessed on-scene by paramedics.

Investigators learned the suspect had demanded the transit driver bring him to a street outside the designated route and became “enraged” when the driver could not accommodate the request, police said.

The suspect proceeded to assault the driver, who stopped the bus, activated his emergency equipment and opened the doors to allow other riders to flee, WPS said.

According to the release, the suspect threatened to stab the victim during the assault.

Officers intervened and arrested the suspect, a 29-year-old Winnipeg man, who remains in police custody. He is charged with assault with a weapon, assault and uttering threats, WPS said.