Neighbour of accused Manitoba killer, victims says he often heard arguing coming from house
Posted February 13, 2024 3:36 pm.
Last Updated February 13, 2024 3:37 pm.
The neighbour of the accused and five victims in southern Manitoba says he regularly heard verbal arguments coming from the family home.
BACKGROUND: 3 children, 2 women dead in southern Manitoba; suspect in custody: RCMP
Randy McFarlane lives just a few doors down from the home shared by accused killer Ryan Howard Manoakeesick, his common-law partner, their three children and his partner’s teenage niece. Manoakeesick faces five counts of first-degree murder.
“Even I could see and all I do is basically hear them, I can see there’s something wrong here,” McFarlane said. “So how did it get to this point? Why didn’t somebody try to do something?”
RCMP have not publicly identified the victims, but an obituary has named them as Amanda Clearwater, her children — Bethany, Jayven, and Isabella Manoakeesick — and her niece Myah-Lee Gratton.
McFarlane is questioning what could have been done to avoid the tragedy.
“The question you always have is when things like this happen… why do you do it to the kids?” McFarlane said.
WATCH: Manitoba RCMP charge suspect in connection to five murders
The neighbour says things weren’t always what they seemed with the family.
“From the people I was talking to, they said that he sounded perfectly polite when he was in there, she was pretty much the same,” McFarlane said. “There was nothing to any of them that would have suggested anything like this.”
The five bodies were found Sunday at multiple crime scenes in and around Carman, a town of about 3,000 people southwest of Winnipeg. Manoakeesick, 29, was arrested the same day.
The superintendent of the Prairie Rose School Division in Carman says it was clear the community had a “major crisis” on their hands once RCMP provided an update Sunday afternoon outlining what police knew so far.
Terry Osiowy says he can’t recall any tragedy of this magnitude and that the school board has already dispatched crisis support teams to both schools in the area.
“The focus has to be on the victims and the families and friends of the victims,” Osiowy told CityNews. “And I think that’s the common thread that we all have is to do the best that we can to support them.”
Manoakeesick’s next court appearance for the murder charges is Feb. 23.
RCMP have said autopsies are taking place this week as they continue to investigate how the deaths unfolded.
–With files from The Canadian Press
