Women charged with slaying retired businessman

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This article was published 22/02/2018 (2252 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two women face murder charges, and two males have been charged with arson, in the death of a Winnipeg senior last month in the Maples.

Police found the body of Parviz Lotfi, also known as Hossein Lofti, in his home Jan. 9.

Lofti, 77, was a longtime business owner who had been honoured by the city for his contributions to the North End. The Iraqi immigrant and his late wife operated a Main Street beauty salon for 33 years until 2014.

On Friday, Winnipeg police said Lofti had been socializing at his home with two women on the evening of Jan. 5, when a physical confrontation occurred. It is believed the two women left Lofti in an incapacitated state in his Manilla Road house and fled in his vehicle, police said.

A day later, they returned to the home with three other people, police said. A fire was set inside the house and various items were stolen, police said.

Lofti’s bank and credit cards were used in the days following his death, police said.

“We’ve seen this in the past, when there’s a homicide and suspects set a fire in an attempt to hide a crime,” Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jay Murray said Friday.

The fire damage was extensive enough to be visible from the street. Officers who investigated four days later reported spotting it as they ­approached the house.

Investigators believe Lofti died shortly after the physical confrontation on Jan. 5.

On Jan. 9, two women were pulled over by police in St. Vital. The registration showed the vehicle was registered to Lofti and the occupants raised the officers’ suspicions, which led police to Lofti’s home, police said.

The two women stopped in St. Vital are not believed to be involved in Lofti’s death or the fire, police said, but were charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.

“It was critical that these officers made that decision (to check Lofti’s home),” Murray said. “Lofti might not have been found for a week or more… Something didn’t feel right, and part of being a good police officer is paying attention to your intuition, and these two officers demonstrated that perfectly.”

Officers were dispatched to check on Lofti’s well-being and that’s when they found his body. The death was reported as the city’s first homicide of 2018.

Yvonne Littlejohn, 36, and Myra Dawn Bird, 35, both of Winnipeg, have been charged with second-degree murder.

Charles Clayton Shabaquay, 43, of Winnipeg has been charged with arson and theft offences.

A 17-year-old male has been charged with arson and theft, and a 15-year-old female has been charged with theft.