The man who was beaten to death on Selkirk Avenue early Saturday morning has been identified as John Gabriel, 38, say family and friends.
Winnipeg police were called to Salter Street around 2:40 a.m., after reports that a man had been assaulted.
Gabriel was transported to hospital in serious condition and died of his injuries.
John’s wife Vanessa Kennedy-Gabriel describes him as a good man who didn’t deserve to die.
“He was just an all around nice guy, he’d take the shirt off his back to help you out. Me and him we didn’t have any kids together but we’ve been together for seven years and he’s helped me raise my kids,” Kennedy-Gabriel said.
Cst. Rob Carver said there is a 24-hour coffee shop in the area and a number of businesses that were open, so police are hoping witnesses step forward.
Investigators believe Gabriel was assaulted near the intersection, then made his way south to Salter Street and Stella Avenue “where some people called, because he was obviously in need of some desperate medical attention,” said Carver.
Kennedy-Gabriel is urging anyone who knows anything to come forward.
“He was my soulmate and now he’s gone you know? Please if you have any information tell the police,” she said.
Stephanie Laquette found the man laying on the ground when she was trying to buy cigarettes.
“I ran out and I was trying to wake him up, trying to help him, trying to talk to him and then I noticed he was falling asleep. I ran back to the truck and I grabbed some towels to try and stop the bleeding,” she told Global News Saturday.
Anyone with information should call the Homicide Unit at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 1-204-786-TIPS (8477).
This was the fourth homicide in two weeks, and the city has seen nine homicides since the beginning of the year.
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