A Winnipeg family says the 29-year-old woman who was found shot in the head before her home was set on fire earlier this week is the cousin of Tina Fontaine, a murdered teenager whose death spurred calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.
Rhonda Flett, Tina Fontaine鈥檚 aunt, says that Jeanenne Fontaine was the victim of a brutal murder.
鈥淎 cold-hearted blooded murderer, someone that has no regard for life would do something like that,鈥� Flett told CTV Winnipeg.
Flett said Jeanenne was discovered in the home on Aberdeen Avenue in the city鈥檚 North End on Tuesday. She said her niece was shot in the back of the head and her home was set on fire. Flett said the mother of three died Wednesday morning after being taken off life support.
Winnipeg police would not confirm that the woman they found in the home was Jeanenne, but did say they believe the fire was deliberately set.
One neighbour, Garret Mitchell, told CTV Winnipeg that he believes the fire started shortly after his wife dropped their daughter off at school on Tuesday morning. He said they heard a loud noise outside while they were in their living room.
"All of a sudden we hear like a pop,鈥� Mitchell recalled.
He said they saw smoke billowing from inside a house almost directly across the street from theirs and the front door appeared to have been blown open.
Another neighbour, Cory Raven, who lives two houses down from the one set on fire, said he was asleep when the fire began. After he woke up, he said he saw first responders helping a woman who appeared to be badly burned.
Jeanenne鈥檚 aunt said her death is particularly devastating for the family in the aftermath of Tina鈥檚 murder nearly three years ago.
The 15-year-old鈥檚 body was found wrapped in a garbage bag in Winnipeg鈥檚 Red River in August, 2014. A 54-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to her death. The case captured the country鈥檚 attention and ignited calls for an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
"It's us burying babies. No family has to live like this," Flett said as her voice trembled.
Flett urged the person or persons responsible for Jeanenne鈥檚 death to surrender to police.
鈥淗ave a heart, turn yourself in,鈥� she said.
With a report from CTV Winnipeg鈥檚 Sarolta Saskiw
