Arrest made in 2003 slaying of Winnipeg mom

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This article was published 07/03/2020 (2080 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An arrest has been made in the case of a Winnipeg woman killed more than 16 years ago in her Mountain Avenue apartment while her three children and a babysitter slept in the next room.

Police say a city man is in custody on allegations he is responsible for the death of Nicolle Hands, 32, who was attacked Oct. 2, 2003 and died three days later from her injuries.

Earlier reports on the homicide case indicated Hands was stabbed several times.

An 18-month investigation by Project Devote, a joint unit between the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service, resulted in an arrest on Saturday. The accused has not been formally charged and his name was not released.

A member of Hands’ immediately family told the Free Press officers called Saturday afternoon to say an arrest had been made, but offered neither the suspect’s identity nor the nature of the relationship, if any, he had with the woman.

The investigator promised to be in touch with more details as soon as he could, the family member said.

Project Devote, which probes murdered and missing vulnerable persons cases­, announced in July 2012­ it was taking over the investigation.

Police determined that Hands’ babysitter woke to noises at 3:30 a.m. and saw a man standing over her in the adjacent room, then fleeing the apartment.

This might be the final case for the co-ordinated Project Devote effort. The WPS announced Friday it has pulled its remaining officers from the joint task force in an effort to better co-ordinate police units.

Police Chief Danny Smyth said city homicide investigators will no longer be stationed at the RCMP’s D Division headquarters. Under a new model, investigators from the homicide unit, counter-exploitation unit, missing-persons unit and the internet child-exploitation unit will co-ordinate on files that involve exploitation of Indigenous women and girls, Smyth said.

Sergeants leading each unit will meet on a daily basis to share information and work to quickly transition cases to the missing persons and homicide groups, when necessary, he said.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell