Assault victim dies after leaving hospital; murder charge laid

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This article was published 24/10/2022 (696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 19-year-old man has been slapped with a murder charge after the man he allegedly assaulted died two days following his release from hospital.

Jason Vincent Daniels of Winnipeg was initially charged with assault causing bodily harm, but on Monday the charge was upgraded to second-degree murder, in the death of Joshua Courchene on Oct. 17.

Daniels remains in custody.

Homicide investigators, who consulted with the provincial medical examiner, determined Courchene’s death was a result of the assault in the first 100 block of Isabel Street late on Oct. 15.

On that night, officers, with the assistance of the police helicopter, found the victim. He was taken to hospital where he was treated and released, police said Tuesday.

Police took a suspect, who was riding a bicycle nearby, into custody.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said the case is unusual because the victim had been released from hospital.

“The circumstances… are a little different than what we normally see,” Chancy said.

“As far as the investigation portion, there’s really no difference from any other homicide, it just happens that the circumstances in which the victim was found was not the usual, as we would see in other homicides.”

The victim and accused knew each other, Chancy said, and the assault was not random.

He would not reveal details of the assault, including whether a weapon was used, or what type of injuries Courchene suffered.

A Shared Health spokesperson would not comment on the specifics of the case, citing patient privacy laws, but said generally decisions to discharge hospital patients are made based on diagnostic tests and the physician’s judgment.

“Generally, a decision whether to admit, monitor or discharge a patient will come after determining whether they are awake, alert, have stable vital signs, can be appropriately treated via outpatient care and can satisfy any concerns related to cognitive status,” the spokesperson said in an email.

The spokesperson added people who’ve suffered physical trauma are told to monitor their condition and return to hospital if their condition worsens.

Meanwhile, a man found dead under a cargo truck parked on an East Elmwood street Monday morning has been declared a homicide victim.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responders and police were called to the 130 block of Clyde Road at about 9:45 a.m.

The fire paramedic service determined the man was dead while police cordoned off the area. Homicide investigators have identified the man as Lionel Sherwin Colombe, 35.

Around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers were removing police tape from a house on the street.

Across the street, 20-year-old Faancy, who asked the Free Press to withhold her last name, watched from the window of her duplex.

“It’s pretty scary. It normally doesn’t happen here. It’s pretty quiet,” she said.

She said she was sleeping with her infant and did not know a body had been discovered until she woke in the afternoon to the sight of police converging on a large, white-and-orange moving van parked almost directly in front of her home.

Homicide detectives have asked for anyone with home surveillance to check recordings for information that may help the investigation and call the unit at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

Courchene and Colombe are the 42nd and 43rd homicide victims in Winnipeg this year. The city is closing in on the record homicide rate that was set in 2019, when 44 people were slain.

“The number of homicides is definitely elevated — that is definitely a concern for police,” Chancy said.

“However, we want to make sure the attention is paid to the loss of life and the trauma it has caused to the families who’ve lost loved ones.”

— with files from Tyler Searle

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca