Winnipeg Trial Begins for Man in 5 Rooming House Deaths

In Winnipeg, the trial of Jamie Felix, a 32-year-old man accused of fatally shooting five people in a rooming house, began this week with testimony highlighting his struggles with addiction and cryptic messages sent to his mother after the attack. Felix has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder in the November 2023 killings in the city's West Broadway neighbourhood.

The incident unfolded early one morning when police responded to reports of a stabbing at the multiunit building. Upon arrival, officers discovered five individuals with gunshot wounds. Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital shortly after. The fifth, Shawn Marko, 56, remained hospitalized for 18 months before dying last year. The victims were identified as sisters Crystal Beardy, 34, and Stephanie Beardy, 33; Melelek Lesikel, 29; Dylan Lavallee, 41; and Marko.

Crown prosecutor Georgia Couturier outlined the case in her opening statement, asserting that Felix had spent days at the rooming house using crack cocaine and consuming alcohol before opening fire. She described how Felix rapidly fired nine shots into a unit known as a drug den,...