Manitoba RCMP have made a pair of arrests in connection with a double homicide in Victoria Beach earlier this year with the suspects arrested on opposite sides of the country.
On June 20, a 29-year-old man and 41-year-old woman were killed, shocking the small community. Police say they both died from gunshot wounds.
Staff Sgt. Sean Grunewald of the Manitoba RCMP Major Crime Services Unit says the investigation has led them to a pair of suspects.
“I can say that the suspects and victims were known to each other,” Grunewald said. “And at this time, we believe that the male victim was targeted by the suspects and that the female victim was killed for being at that specific residence in Victoria Beach when the suspects arrived.”
The suspects are two men, 28-year-old Mitchell Johanson from Grand Marais and 31-year-old Nathoniel More-Harrison from the RM of St. Clements.
Police determined that both had fled the province after the killings, with Johanson arrested in Abbotsford, B.C., two weeks ago and More-Harrison getting caught in New Minas, N.S., on Tuesday.
Grunewald also said he is confident there are other people in the Victoria Beach and Traverse Bay areas who know what happened and is calling for more information.
“Now is the time to come forward and share with us what you know,” Grunewald said. “These homicides have deeply affected two grieving families, countless loved ones, and created concerns for so many residents in the Victoria Beach area and the province of Manitoba.”
Officers say they don’t have information yet on why the two fled to other provinces, but they say the British Columbia and Nova Scotia RCMP played a huge role in completing these arrests.
