Homicide victim was defending girlfriend: family

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2023 (324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man fatally stabbed this week in the William Whyte neighbourhood died defending his girlfriend from an attack, his family says.

“I just keep hoping I am going to wake up from the nightmare,” said Rebecca Ouellette, aunt of Alan Henry Anderson, 22, who was slain Tuesday on the 400 block of Burrows Avenue.

Ouellette said she learned the details of the attack after speaking with city police and two witnesses who were with the man when he was stabbed.

Anderson was attending a party at a Burrows Avenue apartment when he left the building with his girlfriend and a few friends sometime after 3 a.m. The group walked toward a nearby convenience store but were approached by another group and a fight broke out, Ouellette said.

Anderson was stabbed multiple times, she said.

The group attempted to make it back to the apartment, but Anderson collapsed before they reached the door.

“They went after the girls, and Alan stepped in front of them,” Ouellette said Wednesday. “The girls tried CPR and mouth-to-mouth, and tried to keep him alive until ambulances arrived.”

Police issued a statement confirming the details of the incident.

Officers responded to the 400 block of Burrows Avenue around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, and found a man suffering from stab wounds. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries, police said.

The suspect fled before police arrived.

Officers arrested Cory Dylan Watt, 24, on the 300 block of Mountain Avenue around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. He remains in custody and is facing charges of manslaughter and failure to comply with conditions of a release order.

The men did not previously know each other, police said.

A review of Manitoba court documents revealed Watt was previously charged with assault with a weapon, uttering threats, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and pointing a firearm in connection to an incident Oct. 16, 2022.

He was released on bail three days later. Those charges have not been tried in court.

Police cordoned off an area near an apartment building at 423 Burrows Ave. in the hours after the stabbing. They also closed the parking lot surrounding a nearby convenience store at 240 Salter St.

Staff at the store confirmed police were investigating the parking lot in relation to the incident. Investigators asked one of the staff members to provide surveillance footage and they complied, staff said.

Investigators remained on scene until at least the afternoon.

Speaking outside the apartment Wednesday, a man who identified himself as the building’s caretaker said Anderson was known to visit a suite on the first floor.

He pointed to a patch of dark stains on the pavement near the front door and said it was blood.

The owner of the apartment building refused to comment on the incident.

Anderson is survived by his mother, and three brothers aged 5, 16 and 18-years-old.

The family is grief-stricken — and angry after learning the suspect charged in the attack was out on a release order, Ouellette said.

“This catch-and-release… is disgusting,” she said. “We need to do something about the crime in this town… because it’s senseless and it happens too much.”

The case marks the 15th homicide in Winnipeg this year.

Ouellette described Anderson as a “hilarious guy who had jokes for days.”

He loved his family and was trying to overcome challenges in his life, she added.

“Alan struggled with his own difficulties… but he was finally on a path of putting his life straight, and was actually doing pretty good in staying on that path. That’s what makes it so unfortunate.”

Police do not expect to make any more arrests relating to the homicide, WPS said.

— with files from Dean Pritchard

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca