3-month-old infant dead in Winnipeg's latest homicide, police say
Death is city's 4th homicide of the year
A baby boy is dead and a 29-year-old man is charged with manslaughter in Winnipeg.
Emergency crews were called about an unconscious infant at a residence in the city's Lord Roberts neighbourhood on Jan. 11.
The three-month-old was rushed to hospital in critical condition and died on Jan. 15, police said.
Mathieu Moreau was arrested on Tuesday and charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver said he could not go into details about the child's relationship to Moreau, but Moreau is "part of the family household" and both lived at the same address.
The case is being investigated by the child abuse unit and while they have experience handling difficult crimes involving young people, it's never easy to deal with the death of a baby, Carver said.
"I can only imagine the difficulty of being an investigator in that unit and going through cases like this. I think it's for sure one of the most difficult areas of law enforcement anywhere," he said.
"But to be able to do this job, you end up having to modify your reactions to survive."
Carver said the emotional reaction among officers was clear when he updated them about the case and told them it would be the topic of Wednesday's news release.
"I can tell you I saw some anguished faces," he said.
The baby's death is the fourth homicide of 2020 in Winnipeg, continuing a pace that saw the city reach an all-time high last year with 44.