‘A wonderful human being with an immense heart’ Family, friends in shock after down-on-his-luck 28-year-old former football star slain at downtown library; youths charged with murder, manslaughter By: Chris Kitching Posted: 11:24 AM CST Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022 Last Modified: 7:40 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022 Updates

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Tyree Cayer appeared destined for big things after starring in Winnipeg’s high school football league, where he conquered defences and set a scoring record that still stands a decade later.

After injuries disrupted his career and he lost an aunt who was like a best friend, Cayer, 28, fell on hard times and was experiencing homelessness when he was fatally stabbed at the downtown Millennium Library on Sunday.

“Tyree was unique in every way,” his mother Tania wrote in a statement. “He was truly amazing. I’m proud to say he was my son.”

Cayer’s loved ones want people to remember him for who he was, rather than the city’s 51st homicide victim of 2022.

“(He) was wrongfully taken from this world. However, I don’t want to dwell on what was wrongfully done, because he was a wonderful human being with an immense heart, and he only ever had good intentions for everyone,” his uncle Jayse Meyer wrote in a statement.

“I wish everyone had the opportunity to meet and know Tyree because he really was such a wonderful person to be around with so much positive energy.”

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder. Two other boys, 15 and 16, are charged with manslaughter.

The 14 year old made a brief in-person appearance at the Manitoba Youth Centre Tuesday afternoon. The 16 year old appeared by phone.

Seated behind a plexiglass barrier, the boy charged with murder nodded towards his parents and a cousin as defence and Crown lawyers discussed a possible bail application at a future date.

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“Love you mom, love you dad,” the boy said as he left court.

Crown attorney Matt Armstrong told provincial court Judge Kusham Sharma the Crown will be opposing any bail application.

The two teens, along with the third boy who has been charged in the killing, will be back in court Friday.

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Police Service homicide unit is anticipating additional arrests, said spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

Police said the suspects and Cayer got into a “verbal dispute” that led to him being stabbed by one of the teens at about 4:40 p.m.

The suspects ran off but were later arrested. Cayer died despite receiving emergency medical care at the scene.

The library is closed until Monday while the city carries out a safety review.

Cayer graduated from Elmwood High School in 2012, after growing up in the neighbourhood, according to friends.

As a running back, he led the Elmwood Giants to the Currie A Division championship game at Canad Inns Stadium in 2011. Elmwood lost 35-14 to Sisler High School.

Named the division’s top offensive player that year, Cayer still holds the record for most points in a season (126), the Winnipeg High School Football League’s website says.

Former Elmwood coach and teacher Nathan Falk recalled Cayer’s 80-yard touchdown run, with no time on the clock, to win what may have been the school’s first-ever playoff game.

“One of the most athletic players I have ever coached,” Falk wrote in an email. “I remember Tyree as a student that was an exceptional athlete with an outgoing personality who loved spending time on the football field with his friends.”

Cayer was invited to the University of Manitoba Bisons spring camp in 2012. He spent time with the Canadian junior league’s Westshore Rebels in Langford, B.C., before his junior eligibility expired in 2016.

High school friends and teammates, who expected Cayer to play professionally, said his career was interrupted by injuries, including a torn ACL. He also suffered concussions, his uncle said.

Meyer believes Cayer felt “lost” after the death of his aunt, Chantelle (C.J.), in 2017.

“They shared a bond and understanding that was just on a deeper level,” Meyer wrote. “C.J. was the one person who truly had some understanding of the mental struggles Tyree was dealing with because she too had to learn to live with them.

“Although Tyree drifted away from us after her passing years ago, he never drifted from our hearts.”

“C.J. was the one person who truly had some understanding of the mental struggles Tyree was dealing with because she too had to learn to live with them.”–Jayse Meyer

Cayer excelled in other sports, including basketball and track and field.

“Tyree was born with a talent most of us could only dream of,” his uncle wrote.

Friends offered food, money and other help when they bumped into Cayer on the street.

Braydin Chicoine, who went to high school with Cayer, last saw him while waiting for a bus downtown last Wednesday.

“We played a bit of catch with his football at the bus stop,” said Chicoine. “He was telling me he was having a hard time with being homeless, and so I gave him what extra change I had.

“I tried my very, very best to look out for him. My only regret is wishing I could have brought him in, but my living situation wouldn’t allow it, unfortunately, and I will always beat myself up for it.”

Chicoine said Cayer was kind, caring and loyal.

“Even when he was down on his luck, he had a great attitude, he showed people kindness and respect, no matter who they were,” said Chicoine.

Former Elmwood teammate Leonard Mingano said Cayer, who had a “big heart,” encouraged him to play football.

“I remember my first time meeting him — it was through soccer — and it was like, ‘Wow, who is this guy?’” said Mingano. “He was full of talent.”

The knee injuries were hard on Cayer because they stopped him from playing football, said Mingano.

“I thought he’d be in the NFL right now or CFL,” he said. “We always told him, ‘You’re going to go far.’ Seeing him go down like that, it hurt me more than anything.”

“Tyree was basically one of the nicest people you would have ever met. He had a smile that lit a room up.”–Colin Watkins

Mingano and other friends added Cayer to a group text-message chat to keep tabs on him and be there if he needed help.

“He was trying to turn his life around,” said Mingano. “I know he’s not that type of guy that would do something to someone.”

Colin Watkins, another former teammate, said friends are in disbelief.

“Tyree was basically one of the nicest people you would have ever met. He had a smile that lit a room up,” said Watkins.

Former classmate Carly Ascoli caught up with Cayer when she saw him at a downtown bus stop a few months ago.

“He seemed like his happy self,” she said. “He didn’t deserve this. He was a kind soul, and he would make everyone feel welcome and accepted. He just had a good heart.”

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call police at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477.

— with files from Dean Pritchard and Erik Pindera

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching