City police probe two homicides

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This article was published 16/08/2022 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s homicide unit is probing two unrelated slayings that occurred in just over 12 hours.

Officers were called to a suspicious death on the 600 block of Cathedral Avenue near McKenzie Street Tuesday afternoon, where they discovered a man’s body inside the home.

The victim was identified as 83-year-old Pajo (Paul) Radocaj of Winnipeg.

On Wednesday morning, the front of the one-storey beige stucco home was blocked off with police tape, while a cruiser car was parked on the boulevard.

The backyard was also taped off. A uniformed officer stood watch over a gravel parking pad overgrown with weeds. The parking space was marked with five numbered evidence placards.

Most neighbours declined to comment or did not answer their doors.

Pete, a 65-year-old who has lived across the street for the past 40 years, said he was surprised to see police on his street.

“That’s pretty close to home,” he said.

The homeowner said the block is quiet, and most of his neighbours own their homes, rather than rent.

“It’s kind of a mellow neighbourhood,” said Pete, who declined to give his surname.

He did not know the victim and could not recall anyone recently moving in or out of the house.

Twelve hours later, a man died after being assaulted on Higgins Avenue.

The road was closed off with crime-scene tape between Main and Austin streets as police investigated the stabbing outside the Mount Royal Hotel.

Officers were called around 3:05 a.m., and found a seriously injured man in front of the hotel. They gave him emergency medical care. He was pronounced dead at hospital. The victim’s name and age were not released.

On Wednesday morning, police tape had been erected on the east side of the hotel, which offers rooms on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, while officers in squad cars watched over the scene from either end.

A 48-year-old man who has lived in the Mount Royal for two years said he was on edge because of the slaying.

“He got stabbed (outside) and ran in and collapsed — they did CPR on him and he passed,” the resident, who didn’t want his name printed, said.

He didn’t know the victim.

Another man was stabbed in the chest at the hotel recently, he said. On Monday night, the resident said, two men tried to break in to suites.

“I’m not scared — I’m ready, I’m prepared at all times,” he said, adding he has weapons in his room, which he keeps locked with three deadbolts.

The slayings are the 31st and 32nd homicides of the year. At this time last year, 29 people had been killed in Winnipeg.

The homicide unit asks anyone with information on either of the deaths to call 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera