Teen faces two murder charges in The Pas slayings

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This article was published 01/02/2023 (449 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 17-year-old male accused in two mid-January slayings in The Pas didn’t know either of the homicide victims, RCMP say.

The youth was arrested Tuesday, after being at large for two weeks, and charged with two counts of second-degree murder. He remains in custody.

Mounties were first called to a home in the western Manitoba town Jan. 15, just before 4 a.m., and found an unresponsive man outside.

Officers located another man nearby, both with “obvious signs of trauma.” RCMP haven’t said if a weapon was used in either of the killings.

The men, 42 and 37, respectively, died of their injuries: one at the scene, the other in hospital. Their names haven’t been released.

RCMP from The Pas and nearby detachments, as well as major crimes, search and rescue and forensics investigators, began a search for suspects.

On Jan. 23 and Jan. 31, officers arrested two men, who were later released without charges.

RCMP said Thursday the investigators expect to make further arrests.

On Jan. 25, RCMP took the rare step of publicly identifying the 17-year-old suspect by name, after receiving a provincial court judge’s approval.

At the time, Mounties said the youth was considered armed and dangerous.

The names of minors who have been accused of crimes are normally subject to a publication ban, unless police prove to a judge there’s reason to believe the person is a danger to others and they need to publish their name to help locate them.