Winnipeg homicide investigators are looking into the death of a 23-year-old woman after a Tuesday morning apartment fire.
The woman, who has now been identified as Star Alicia Thomas, was rushed to hospital in critical condition after the Sargent Avenue blaze. She later died.
Thomas’ death marks Winnipeg’s first homicide of 2023.
Winnipeg police spokesperson Const. Dani McKinnon told 680 CJOB Thomas was “discovered during the fire” by tenants of the building, who alerted paramedics.
McKinnon wouldn’t say whether or not investigators believe Thomas died as a result of the fire or whether she’d been injured beforehand.
“That’s part of the entirety of the investigation,” she said.
“The fire, in itself, as well as the deceased aspect, are part of the entire investigation.
“Evidence will be collected, information gathered, witnesses spoken to, as steps in the investigation.”
The fire brought emergency crews to a three-storey apartment building in the 700 block of Sargent Avenue around 9 a.m. and was one of three separate blazes reported in Winnipeg in just over three hours Tuesday morning.
In a release later in the day Tuesday the city said firefighters found smoke coming out of the apartment on arrival and searched the building, helping some residents escape.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the city has said.
McKinnon said the medical examiner’s office is working to determine Thomas’ cause of death, a process she said “can take some time.”
In the meantime homicide detectives are looking to speak to anyone with information about the fire or Thomas, McKinnon said, including where she had been prior to fire and what she was doing at the apartment building at the time of the fire.
Investigators can be reached at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).
The latest investigation comes one day after police announced murder and arson charges in connection to a fatal fire at an apartment building on Qu’Appelle Avenue on Christmas morning.
Roger Glen Doblej, 63, and Suzanne Helen McCooeye, 70, were among six people taken to hospital from the fire. Both later died of their injuries.
Ethan Gage Shaydon Powderhorn, 26, is 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.
–With files from Skylar Peters and Shane Gibson
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