Manitoba RCMP say three children and two women are dead and a man is in custody

Brittany Hobson, Canadian Press

WINNIPEG – Police offered their condolences Sunday to residents of a small Manitoba town as they launched an investigation into how three children and two women died in separate but related circumstances.

RCMP Insp. Tim Arsenault gave few details at a hastily called news conference, but police believe the five dead and the suspect all knew each other.

A 29-year-old man is in custody, but it is not yet known what charges he will face.

Arsenault said residents of Karman, Man, where one of the victims was found, are grieving as they try to cope with the deaths of some of its young members. The community of about 3,000 people is located 85 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg.

“I want to express my condolences to the families and friends who have lost a loved one today,” Arsenault said. “As a parent, I can't imagine how painful your loss is. Please know that the RCMP and everyone in Manitoba are with you.

“The communities of Carman and the surrounding areas will also be saddened to have lost one of their youngest residents in such a tragic way.”

Arsenault said five dead people were found at three separate scenes.

Police spotted the first at 7:30 a.m. They were reported to have hit and run on Highway 3 about six kilometers south of Carman. The woman's body was found in a ditch on the side of the road, Arsenault said.

The next call came to the RCMP at 10 a.m. about a car on fire 70 kilometers north in the rural municipality of Cartier.

“While officers were on their way to the scene, a witness pulled three small children out of the burning vehicle,” Arsenault said. “Sadly, all three children were pronounced dead at the scene.”

Arsenault said the suspect was taken into custody at the scene of the fire.

He said further investigation led officers to a home in Carman, where they found the body of another woman inside.

Arsenault did not give the ages of any of the dead or describe the relationship between them and the suspect.