Manitoba RCMP and the families of two people killed in a fire in Northlands Denesuline First Nation last September are appealing for people with information to come forward to help them solve the killings of Brent Denechezhe and Leona Tssessaze.
The fire was reported to Thompson RCMP by First Nation safety officers around 7 a.m. on Sept. 9. The remains of Denechezhe, 31, and Tssessaze, 24 were discovered inside once the fire was out and autopsies in Winnipeg determined that they had died as a result of homicide.
Veronique Denechezhe, Brent’s mother, was working outside of the remote First Nation, also known as Lac Brochet, which is accessible by road only briefly during the winter, at the time of her son’s death and said in an RCMP news release that she cannot imagine herself living there again.
“Whoever did this to Brent and Leona, whoever killed my son, is still there, still lives there,” she said. “I can’t be there and unknowingly wish the person who killed my baby a nice day.”
Leona’s mother, Ellen Tssessaze, said her other children help her cope but that the family is having a difficult time understanding why their sister is gone. Leona’s two-year-old brother looks at his sister’s photograph and her four-year-old nephew won’t talk about her, while her 12-year-old sister spends a lot of time alone and tries not to let her mother know that she has been crying.
l“I don’t know why this had to happen,” Ellen said. “I just keep wondering why. Whoever did this needs to come forward. Pease come forward. If anyone knows anything, please help us. Please help our families. Speak up for Leona and Brent.”
Veronique said she struggles to help Brent’s two children understand that their father is gone forever.
“His girls meant the world to him,” Veronique said. “My son was a great father. How do we tell his girls he’s gone? How do we explain that this man who loved sports, who was a quiet man who wouldn’t stop talking once you got to know him, that he is no longer going to be here to wrap them in his arms? What happens when they find out that someone made the choice to take him away from them? What happens when they realize someone in their community killed their dad and nobody has said anything?”
RCMP Major Crime Services is actively investigating the homicide and asks anyone with information to call the RCMP tip line at 431-489-8551, Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or to submit a tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
