Man found in house fire on Halloween night is Winnipeg's 42nd homicide

The death of a man last month after a house fire has been deemed a homicide, setting a new single-year record in Winnipeg.

Douglas Wood, 41, was found in a 1½-storey home on Pritchard Avenue, between Andrews and Powers streets, on Halloween night. He was rushed to hospital and died on Nov. 5.

Jenna Sereena Kakegamick, 23, was arrested Dec. 17 and charged with second-degree murder and arson.

The arrest "was a significant pivotal moment" in confirming Wood's death was a homicide, police spokesperson Const. Jay Murray said.

There were "suspicious factors" that suggested homicide, but it wasn't until the arrest was made that police could officially declare it as such, he said.

Police said Kakegamick and Wood were known to each other and were socializing when a confrontation occurred. Kakegamick is accused of starting the fire and running out, leaving Wood behind.

Police did not say why Wood didn't get out but suggested he may have been passed out from drinking.

"They were heavily socializing before the incident and that may have contributed," Murray said.

In the end, however, it was the fire that caused Wood's death, he said.

As for the surge in homicides, much more than the 22 the city experienced last year, Murray said there have been a number of social issues that have contributed, such as alcohol and drug use.

"We've also seen a disproportionate number of homicides that involve gun violence or methamphetamine use," he said. 

Often people look for answers to why the number has risen so dramatically, but they also overlook that it has fallen significantly in other years.

The previous record for homicides in the city was 41, set in 2011. But two years later, it was back to 25, "and we were never asked why that was," Murray said.

The answer is simply that homicide trends are volatile and unpredictable, and sometimes it's just luck that makes a difference, he said.

"That homicide number is dependent on a number of factors, such as the proximity of medical resources, how fast medical help arrives, and even the location of an injury — one centimetre over can be the difference between a homicide and a serious assault," Murray said.

"That homicide count by itself — I know a lot of attention is given to that number — but it's not an accurate or proper metric to measure violence as a whole."