A 26-year-old Winnipeg man is facing murder and arson charges in connection with a Christmas Day apartment fire that killed two people and injured four others.
Police said a minor fire was started just after midnight on Dec. 25, 2022 at the Qu’Appelle Avenue apartment building. It was quickly extinguished, but a second, more significant fire was set four hours later.
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Services (WFPS) crews had to search suites and evacuate residents during the blaze, which led to six people between the ages of 47 and 79 being taken to hospital.
Two of them, 63-year-old Roger Glen Doblej, and Suzanne Helen McCooeye, 70, later died of their injuries, police said.
Ethan Gage Shaydon Powderhorn was taken into custody and charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of arson with disregard for human life, and a charge of arson causing property damage.
Police said the accused is also suspected in a fire in a Kennedy Street garbage bin two weeks earlier.