'Superjuice' linked to Garden Hill First Nation death

Homemade alcohol known as "superjuice" is being blamed in the death Thursday of a woman on the Garden Hill First Nation, in Manitoba's far northeast corner.

According to friends and family members, Mary Linda Wood, 38, was the victim of a beating fuelled by the consumption of highly potent home brew.

"They get blackouts when they drink this substance and it causes violence," Chief Jerry Knott, from the nearby Wasagamack First Nation, told CBC News Friday. "Crime has climbed up with this substance, so I will be fighting this."

Knott said he would like to launch a lawsuit against the company that makes and sells the key ingredients of the concoction.

According to police, the local detachment of the RCMP was called to a home on the Garden Hill First Nation around 4:45 a.m. Thursday.

They found Wood suffering from unspecified injuries and took her to a nursing station. She was then flown to hospital in Winnipeg. Wood did not recover and died in hospital.

Janet Harper, 26, of the Garden Hill First Nation was arrested in connection with the incident. She was charged Saturday with second-degree murder and assault with a weapon. She was to appear in court in Winnipeg Monday morning.

The Garden Hill First Nation is located on Island Lake, about 610 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, and is only accessible in the winter by air or over ice roads. It is one of a group of First Nations in the area, including Wasagamack.

Wood was from the Wasagamack First Nation and was a single mother of four.

According to the RCMP, an autopsy performed Friday revealed that Wood died from a blunt force trauma.