Man charged with 2nd-degree murder, arson following deadly Christmas morning apartment fire in Winnipeg
Ethan Powderhorn, 26, was convicted of arson in 2021
A 26-year-old man is charged with setting a Christmas Day apartment fire that killed two people and sent four others to hospital in Winnipeg.
Ethan Powderhorn faces two charges of second-degree murder and four of arson with disregard for human life after a fire at Warwick Apartments on Qu'Appelle Avenue at Carlton Street early on Dec. 25 trapped multiple residents in their suites, police said in a news release on Tuesday.
Emergency crews rushed six people to hospital, including three in critical condition and one who was unstable.
Roger Glen Doblej, 63, and Suzanne Helen McCooeye, 70, died of their injuries, police said.
The other people taken to hospital were three men and one woman, age 47 to 79.
Police believe Powderhorn set two fires in the building that night, with firefighters quickly extinguishing the first.
Hours later, though, the second fire displaced dozens of residents of the Manitoba Housing complex, including some who lost all their belongings.
The accusations against Powderhorn haven't been proven in court. He is being held in custody.
Michael Gibeault, a 12-year resident of the block, called building security about the first fire. When he noticed the second fire, he grabbed a fire extinguisher from his fourth-floor suite and began to battle it himself, he said.
He said he's sad to know his friend and fellow tenant Suzanne Helen McCooeye didn't make it.
"She was a very nice lady. She was a good friend to a lot of people in our building," Gibeault said.
"Bless her soul. She was nice. She was giving people stuff when they needed it. She was a wonderful lady.... It's hard we lost somebody."
A spokesperson from Manitoba Housing said in an email Tuesday that all tenants on the first, second, fifth and sixth floors will be returning to their units on Wednesday, with the exception of two units that sustained heavy water damage.
Hotel stays are being extended for the remaining tenants until alternate arrangements can be made.
Gibeault wonders if his home will be safe upon his return
"If we're moving back in, is there going to be more security on the property? Is there going to be more safety for the tenants?"
The Manitoba Housing spokesperson says most Manitoba Housing properties don't have on-site security, but the building has a floor-by-floor camera system and there are mobile security patrols that respond to calls to its Housing Communications Centre at all hours, 365 days a year.
Previous conviction for arson
Powderhorn was previously convicted of one count of arson with a disregard for human life and one of arson to property in connection with a May 2021 fire, court records show.
Before that, he was convicted of possession of property obtained by crime and weapons offences.
Police believe Powderhorn also was responsible for a garbage bin fire just before noon on Dec. 10, in the area of Portage Place.
The deaths of the two Warwick Apartment tenants brought the total number of homicides in Winnipeg in 2022 to 53, surpassing the previous record of 44 in 2019.
Corrections
- We initially reported that the four people sent to hospital were in their late 40s. In fact, they were age 47 to 79.Jan 03, 2023 11:47 AM CT
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With files from Joanne Roberts and Nathan Liewicki