Missing woman’s death in northwest Winnipeg home being investigated as homicide
Posted June 23, 2026 8:17 am.
Last Updated June 23, 2026 7:13 pm.
A community is devastated after Winnipeg police reported Tuesday that 73-year-old Lexie Diane Smart was murdered in a northwest Winnipeg home earlier this month. Neighbours are in disbelief and say she was one of the sweetest people they knew and that she will be dearly missed by everyone
“Well, Lexi was a great neighbor. She would come over every so often. Even to watch her again, she’d come over. And no, I got nothing bad to say. She was the most pleasant neighbor you could ever ask for,” said Ed Teplyski, a neighbour.
Nancy Zanella, a nearby resident, said, “You just don’t believe it’s going to happen to you, you know? It happens to everybody else; you hear it on the news. But yeah, so this really hits home”
On June 8, police were called to a home on Primrose Crescent to assist in a missing person investigation. When officers arrived, they located Smart’s body inside.
Teplyski has been in the neighbourhood for six years, and lives next door to Smart, and said that she knew everyone and was always outside working in her garden.
“This was a shocker. To have something like this happen next door to you. It was a big shocker,” said Teplyski.
Neighbours told CityNews that around the time of Smart’s disappearance, there was a very public shouting match outside of her home, just a few days before her body was found.
Zanella lives across the street from Smart; she said that she’ll miss the little moments most and her generosity.
“I keep coming out here. I used to see her sitting on her front porch. And wave… and just talking with her. There were a couple times when she knew we were really stressed out. She brought us spring rolls. She was out and said she thought she’d bring us something. Brought us pizza once,” said Zanella.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the homicide unit or Crime Stoppers.
