Court hears Manitoba man accused of killing family mentally fit to stand trial

A doctor has determined a Manitoba man accused of killing five family members, including his three young children, is mentally fit to stand trial. 

Ryan Manoakeesick is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his common-law partner, their children and his partner’s teenage niece.

Police discovered their bodies last month at multiple crime scenes in and around Carman, Man., a town of 3,000 people southwest of Winnipeg.

A prosecutor said the results of the doctor’s mental health assessment indicate a trial can go ahead. 

Manoakeesick did not appear in court, but a representative for his lawyer says they have accepted the assessment. 

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Manoakeesick has been in custody since his arrest, and his next court date is set for June. 

Police have said they were first called to an area outside Carman for a report of a hit-and-run, where 30-year-old Amanda Clearwater was found lying dead in a ditch.

Hours later, and 70 kilometres to the north, officers were called to a report of a burning vehicle. RCMP said the couple’s children were found dead there — Bethany, 6, Jayven, 4, and two-month-old Isabella — and Manoakeesick was taken into custody.

Further investigation led officers to the family’s home in Carman, where they found the body of Clearwater’s 17-year-old niece, Myah-Lee Gratton.