Homicide victim was killed by ex-partner while trying to retrieve belongings, family says
Stepfather, boyfriend of Nadia Flett-Carriere, 22, call killing unexpected, devastating
WARNING: This article contains details of intimate partner violence.
The stepfather of a young woman who was victim of a homicide in Winnipeg's West End earlier this week says she was killed while trying to retrieve personal belongings from a former partner's home.
Nadia Flett-Carriere, 22, and a 27-year-old man died after they were found in medical distress at a home on Sherburn Street, between Portage and St. Matthews avenues, just after 2 p.m. Monday, police said.
On Wednesday, police said the incident was a murder-suicide and identified Flett-Carriere. They did not name the man who killed her because his death means he can't be charged.
Flett-Carriere was a member of God's Lake First Nation who lived in Winnipeg. She had been living with her parents and five siblings for the last six months, after separating from her ex-boyfriend and moving out of the home they had shared, according to her stepfather, Ken Everard.
He says Flett-Carriere went to pick up some of her belongings from the home on Monday afternoon. Investigators believe Flett-Carriere died from injuries sustained during an assault by her former partner, who then took his own life, he said.
"Her current boyfriend had offered to go with her to do this, and she felt like it was something she could do on her own," Everard told CBC News on Thursday.
"We're all deeply shocked. No one would have foreseen anything like this happening, and this is the stuff of nightmares."
Paden Shelton, Flett-Carriere's boyfriend at the time of her death, says she thought her ex would be at work when she went there on Monday, but he was home.
"She texted me and a couple friends were letting us know that he was there, and she was just going to try and get as much packed up as she could," he said.
Police found the two in medical distress less than an hour later, he said, adding that it was an unexpected and devastating blow to her family and friends.
"Her mom's really torn up right now."
'We'll love her forever'
Shelton said Flett-Carriere described her ex-boyfriend as unstable and that he treated her badly throughout their relationship.
Shelton started dating Flett-Carriere in December. He called her the most caring and sweetest person he'd ever met.
"She lives on [through] all of her family and friends. We all miss her very much, and we'll love her forever."
Everard remembers his stepdaughter as a happy person who loved to laugh.
"We were enjoying our time with her. We were enjoying her being back home, and sort of rebuilding roots and foundation at home, with us, again," he said.
"Unfortunately, she's not going to have the opportunity to fulfil a lot of the things that she was hoping to do, and we're going to remember her as the beautiful person she was."
If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. If you're affected by family or intimate partner violence, you can look for help through crisis lines and local support services.
With files from Zubina Ahmed