Winnipeg police have charged a local man in connection with the death of a three-month-old baby boy.
On Wednesday, police said a 29-year-old man is facing manslaughter charges.
Police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver said officers were called to a home in the Lord Roberts neighbourhood on Jan. 11 around 9:25 p.m. for a report of an unconscious boy.
The child was rushed to hospital in critical condition with what police say were internal injuries. He died on Jan. 15.
Carver wouldn’t say exactly what led to the child’s death but noted it was not a domestic situation.
Carver also couldn’t point to a suspected motive in the killing, which is being investigated as a homicide by the force’s child abuse unit.
“I think tragically … in an awful lot of child abuse cases and child homicides, there isn’t a motive,” said Carver.
“In my brief experience in the unit and my understanding of the nature of these incidents, frustrations of life and of being a parent or a caregiver can move to episodes of anger, and babies are delicate little things and if they’re subjected to an outburst can, unfortunately, suffer traumatic or tragic injuries.”
Carver said the man who is now facing charges lived at the home to which police initially responded but wouldn’t elaborate on his relationship to the victim.
“I can tell you that the individual who has been charged was part of the family household,” he said.
“I’m not going to indicate the direct relationship at this point.”
In order to protect the child’s identity, police aren’t releasing the exact street address of the home where the young boy was found.
Mathieu Moreau, of Winnipeg, is charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Moreau has been detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.
The homicide is the fourth to happen in Winnipeg in 2020.