The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor RCMP have released the causes of death in Flin Flon's two latest homicides and say the most recent murder involved individuals who did not know each other. Sgt. Line Karpish, a Manitoba spokesperson for the RCMP, said Raylene Dawn Grant, 21, died of asphyxiation last fall. In the case of John (Kelli) Eyres, 31, who died this past May, Sgt. Karpish confirmed that the cause of death was stabbing. Police had previously indicated this was the apparent cause. Sgt. Karpish also confirmed that Eyres and the man charged in his death, Mitchell Whitbread, 24, of Flin Flon, were not known to each other. In the Grant case, RCMP said early on that the victim and the accused, James Noel Desmarais, 45, of Flin Flon, were known to each other. Whitbread, who is slated to make his next court appearance on Sept. 5 in Flin Flon, has yet to enter a plea. He has been charged with second-degree murder. Desmarais had not yet entered a plea, either, but was scheduled to again appear in court in The Pas on Monday. The outcome was not known as of press time. Desmarais also faces a charge of second-degree murder. Grant's death occurred on Oct. 31, 2011, while Eyres passed away on May 12 of this year. RCMP previously reported Whitbread's age as 25, but he is in fact 24.
