RCMP announced on Thursday, January 7, 2021, that two people were arrested in connection to the murder of Tamara Benoit.
Benoit had been reported missing on July 10, 2020 to the Winnipeg Police Service. On September 3, 2020 officers with Manitoba First Nations Police Service located human remains near cottonwood Drive in the RM of Portage la Prairie. Those remains turned out to be 36-year-old Benoit.
Officers from the RCMP, Winnipeg Police and Manitoba First Nations Police investigated the homicide and on January 5 arrested a 15-year-old male from Winnipeg who was later released without charges. The next day investigators arrested a 37-year-old male from Long Plain First Nation.
Ryan Peters was charged for his alleged involvement with Second Degree Murder.
“Putting the handcuffs on someone and charging them with a homicide provides some justice to the deceased and their family, but the fact remains that a young life has been lost,” said Superintendent Michael Koppang, Officer in Charge of Major Crime Services for the Manitoba RCMP. “Through all the processes and procedures we go through in an investigation, we never lost sight of Tamara. Our agencies worked closely together, pooling resources and community knowledge, to be able to get to this point. I cannot be more thankful for the assistance we received from both WPS and MFNP.”
Police say that the investigation is ongoing and that they anticipate additional arrests will be made.
© News4.ca 2021
