More information demanded from WPS at memorial for slain woman

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2012 (4885 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group of about 40 people attended a noon-hour memorial service for missing woman Tanya Jane Nepinak in the court yard at city hall, where there were calls for more accountability from the Winnipeg Police Service into the investigation of missing and murdered women.

David Harper, grand chief of the northern chiefs organization, MKO, said there is a groundswell of support from within the province’s aboriginal community for more information on what authorities are doing in the investigation of the missing and murdered women.

The 30-minute service included prayers by Bill Traverse, regional vice-chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Members of the Nepinak family were in attendance but declined to speak to the Free Press.

Harper said he supports a planned move by Winnipeg city councillor Ross Eadie, who will introduce a motion at the protection committee Thursday to have the Winnipeg Police Service submit semi-annual reports on the status of its investigation.

The public outcry for greater accountability from a joint RCMP-WPS investigation into missing and murdered women increased last week after the arrest of alleged serial killer Shawn Lamb, who has been charged with the killings of three women: Nepinak, whose body has yet to be found, and Carolyn Marie Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith.

Harper said Winnipeg police chief Keith McCaskill has spoken to the aboriginal leadership but added that more needs to be done.

“There needs to be more communication and sharing of information with the families of the missing and murdered women,” Harper said.