Winnipeg Police have charged three men in the November slaying of a man at a now-defunct downtown nightclub.
They are the first charges laid in the stabbing death of 24 year old Jeff Engen at the Empire Cabaret; one of the suspects is former Hells Angel Billy Bowden, who’d been on the run from other unrelated charges and was arrested last week by RCMP in British Columbia.
Engen died on Nov. 18 after being stabbed at the now-closed Empire bar on Main Street.
32 year old Bowden, 32 year old Matt Weiger and 24 year old Joel Braund all face charges of manslaughter.
Engen’s parents, Darrel and Christine say they’re glad someone has finally been arrested, but believe the charge of manslaughter, is not enough.
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“It’s pretty lenient for the crime committed,” says Darrel.
The Engen’s also say their son and Bowden knew each other, and that a grudge likely led to the fatal fight.
“There was an altercation a few years ago because Jeff had asked for an ex-girlfriend’s number and Billy Bowden was mad about that, and they just started being enemies about it.”
It is believed Engen, a bodybuilder, was in the basement lounge area of the Empire when he got into a dispute.Engen was stabbed in the chest, then climbed the stairs to get help, but collapsed near the dance floor. He was rushed to hospital, but pronounced dead.
His family believes the suspects entered through a back door, avoiding a front-door security check and video surveillance cameras.
A man who was one of the four individuals shot at the bar only a month earlier has filed a civil suit against the Empire, owner Sabino Tummillo and the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission.
The Empire closed its doors for good after the Engen murder, and Tummillo has since surrendered his liquor license.
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