Human remains identified, three arrests linked to homicide: police

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/04/2022 (1283 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The discovery of human remains by a farm dog off a remote road north of Winnipeg in late March has been tied to a slaying in a Pritchard Avenue drug-and-gang house in mid-February.

The Winnipeg Police Service has charged three people in connection to the death of Brandon Brust, 26, of Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation.

Brust was last seen Feb. 10 — the day before investigators say he was killed at a North End home. He was the subject of a missing person’s report Feb. 11. Brust’s car was found Feb. 13 on the 600 block of Selkirk Avenue.

On Tuesday, city police said officers had been called Feb. 14 to the home on the 400 block of Pritchard Avenue on a report of suspicious activity. They found a 22-year-old woman who had been seriously assaulted.

They detained several people, including a second 22-year-old woman who had been reported missing along with Brust, police said.

Major crimes investigators believe Brust was the victim of a homicide, a woman was sexually assaulted, and another woman was threatened and forcibly confined at the scene during the slaying.

One man has been charged with second-degree murder, and two women with accessory after the fact.

“Essentially, it means somebody’s part and parcel to the offence and they have knowledge of the offence — that would be the homicide — and they have assisted in the secondary portion of the offence,” WPS Const. Dani McKinnon said Tuesday of the accessory after the fact charges.

“Obviously, we know this body has been moved and that’s a criminal offence.”

McKinnon said investigators are still seeking other individuals potentially involved in aspects of the slaying.

Human remains later determined to be Brust were first found by a dog in a ditch near the corner of roads 79 North and 11 West, off Highway 6.

The farm pet initially brought a bone home to its owner. A few days later, the retrieval of further bones aroused suspicion, sparking a March 30 call to RCMP, Mounties told the Free Press at the time.

A crime lab forensic analysis determined the remains belonged to Brust, police said.

McKinnon said how the body was transported to the rural scene remains part of the investigation.

“I can’t speak to the mechanism of how he died. I can’t speak to anything further regarding the remains,” she said.

Asked whether Brust and accused knew each other, McKinnon said: “The people that are involved in this incident, they have connections in the drug-and-gang subculture, (and) to each other.”

McKinnon said investigators are still determining any specific motivation for the crime, while also trying to find additional witnesses or people involved. Anyone with knowledge of the incident can contact major crimes at 204-986-6219 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

“But it’s just loud and clear: it’s a very heavily populated drug house… The fact that a suspicious call was made there I think is quite telling because obviously it’s the kind of place where criminals will frequent,” she said.

“Somebody felt the need to make a phone call to the police that something more serious and untoward was going on within the residence.”

Kenneth Andrew Edwards, 29, has been charged with second-degree murder, sexual assault and forcible confinement, as well as court condition breaches and a drug offence. He remains in custody. His next court date is April 22.

Edwards was subject to numerous weapons prohibitions and had a criminal record, including convictions for weapons, property and drug offences, according to court records reviewed by the Free Press.

In 2013, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 368 days in custody, three years of supervised probation and a 10-year weapons prohibition.

In November 2019, he pleaded guilty to multiple offences. Edwards had been on bail for a drug charge, a weapon offence, possession of a stolen vehicle and identification documents when he was caught for a break-and-enter. He was given three years probation and 15 months less time served.

Billie Erin Kozub, 38, has been charged with accessory after the fact to murder, possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a prohibition, as well as for unrelated warrants. Her record shows a conviction for robbery in 2020; she was sentenced to custody of 13 months plus 18 days.

Emily Rae Fontaine, 18, has been charged with accessory after the fact to murder.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera