After years of community frustration, Mounties make arrest in death of young God's Lake mother

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This article was published 22/3/2018 (994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two-and-a-half years after the body of Crystal Andrews was found beneath a canopy of birch and spruce trees, near the edge of the garbage dump in God's Lake Narrows First Nation, Manitoba RCMP have charged a man from the community with her slaying.

In the early morning hours of Nov. 8, 2015, Andrews left a party and began walking home. She called her boyfriend of nine years (and the father of her two children) to say she was on her way. That was the last time anyone heard from the 22-year-old woman.

Her body was found by some trappers the following day. RCMP initially ruled the death "suspicious," and later determined she was the victim of homicide.

On Tuesday, Manitoba RCMP arrested Michael William Okemow, 37, in Winnipeg, and charged the God's Lake man with second-degree murder.

On Thursday, police held a press conference -- attended by Andrews' longtime partner, their children (who were five and three, respectively, at the time of her death) and other family members -- to announce the arrest.

Her children held colouring books in their hands as they sat beside their father in a row of seating before the podium. Her daughter's legs dangled from the edge of her seat, unable to touch the floor, swinging back and forth above a box of tissues on hand for her and her brother.

News of the arrest was a bittersweet for many in the fly-in Cree community, located 550 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, with a population of roughly 1,500.

God's Lake Chief Gilbert Andrews (no immediate relation to the victim) said the community has been pointing its collective finger at Okemow from Day 1, insisting to RCMP investigators he was responsible for the death. It has left many in the northern community, who already have admittedly strained relationships with police, frustrated with the perceived shortcomings of the RCMP investigation, he said.

In addition to allegedly being the last person seen with Andrews, Okemow was also picked up by police the day she died. Court records show he was taken into custody Nov. 8, 2015, ultimately being charged with 19 offences, including forcible confinement and three counts of assault with a weapon.

"The suspect was arrested immediately, on some other charges. The community had made up their mind that the person who did this was already in custody, so what's taking so long to charge him? That's the sense -- the feeling I got from my membership, from my First Nation," the chief said.

"It's hard to describe, you know? There's a lot of feelings that come up. People say, 'They don't care about us. Just another dead Indian. What do they care?'"

When asked for his thoughts on how the investigation was handled by police, the God's Lake chief said: "I think it could have gone a lot quicker. I don't think it started off properly. That's all I'll say."

On Thursday, an RCMP spokeswoman said Okemow was charged Nov. 8, 2015, for crimes "unrelated" to Andrews' death.

However, RCMP Chief Supt. Mark Fisher said Okemow's name also came up quickly in the homicide investigation. Officers worked hard in the subsequent years building a case capable of justifying laying a charge, he said.

Fisher wouldn't reveal details from the investigation, but said DNA evidence "formed a very significant part of our case."

The Mounties did not release Andrews' official cause of death, only saying the 22-year-old "died as a result of injuries sustained from a serious assault."

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Sheila North also attended Thursday's news conference in Winnipeg. She said Andrews' death highlights issues pervasive throughout the country related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and the state of First Nations generally.

"Our communities are in a state of trauma. They need a lot of healing, and a lot of that stems from colonization and all the impacts our people have gone through. Hurt people hurt people. That's the main thing I've learned lately. These things are avoidable. When you give proper resources to communities, they'll be able to take care of themselves and their families," North said.

Andrews' death was the second homicide to shake the remote community in the past five years.

Leah Anderson, 15, was found dead Jan. 6, 2013, two days after she went missing. RCMP originally ruled the teenager had likely been mauled by animals, but it was later determined she had been beaten to death. Her slaying remains unsolved.

Okemow remains in custody. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Police said he is not a suspect in Anderson's death.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe