The Death of Tina Fontaine

*This nonfiction was utilized arsenic the ground for an episode of John Lordan’s Seriously Mysterious podcast.*

EARLY LIFE:

Tina Fontaine was calved connected January 1, 1999 to Valentina Duck and Eugene Fontaine. Both struggled increasing up, with Eugene suffering the ill-effects of Canada’s residential schoolhouse system. At 12 years old, helium near his location successful Manitoba’s Sagkeeng First Nation and moved to Winnipeg, wherever helium lived connected the thoroughfare and struggled with cause and intoxicant abuse.

Valentina was calved and raised successful the Bloodvein First Nation, northbound of Winnipeg. When she was six years old, she was removed from her location by Manitoba Child and Family Services, the commencement of repeated removals until she was made a imperishable ward of the authorities erstwhile she was 10.

Once successful the attraction of CFS, Valentina began to rebel, moving distant and utilizing drugs and alcohol. She met Eugene erstwhile she was 12 years aged and he, 23. CFS records shows societal workers were alert of the narration and Eugene’s past of violence.

In outpouring 1996, Valentina gave commencement to the couple’s archetypal child, a boy, who was instantly taken into CFS custody. Tina was calved 3 years later. This clip around, the mates was allowed to support their child, arsenic they’d taken steps to amended their lives and interruption escaped of their struggles with drugs and alcohol. They’d besides been attending parenting classes.

Tina’s small sister, Sarah, was calved a twelvemonth later. It was astir this clip the brace were removed from their parents’ care, aft Valentina and Eugene near them with their grandma and didn’t return. The children were fixed backmost 4 days later, but nary appraisal was done to find if their parents could decently attraction for them.

The brace were seized again the pursuing year, aft their parents were seen leaving a location enactment intoxicated, with them successful tow. They are housed successful a edifice earlier being placed successful the foster attraction system. Eugene and Valentina broke up not agelong after, and pursuing the completion of parenting courses and addiction treatment, the children were returned to Eugene’s custody.

In 2004, Eugene was diagnosed with cancer, prompting him to petition that the children’s great-aunt and uncle, Thelma and Joseph Favel, instrumentality them in. Thelma was granted imperishable custody soon after, and Tina and Sarah lived astatine her location successful Sagkeeng First Nation for implicit a decade.

On October 31, 2011, Eugene was beaten to decease by 2 individuals aft a three-day intoxicant and cause binge. While the men yet plead blameworthy to charges of manslaughter, Eugene’s decease greatly affected Tina. Thelma attempted to get her counselling done CFS, but it failed to put immoderate services for her.

Following Eugene’s death, Tina started acting up successful school, missing assignments, smoking marijuana and skipping class. She besides got into verbal and carnal confrontations, and received aesculapian attraction for self-harm. During this time, Thelma continued to petition assistance from CFS, but her calls for assistance went unanswered.

Before her father’s death, Tina was your mean preteen. She enjoyed school, and was ever looking retired for those who were bullied. She besides went retired of her mode to instrumentality attraction of the younger children connected the reserve.

LEAD UP TO DISAPPEARANCE:

On November 1, 2013, Tina ran distant to sojourn Valentina successful Winnipeg. Child payment workers located her and placed her successful a structure earlier returning her to Thelma’s care.

Still reeling from her father’s death, Tina paid tribute to him connected her 15th day by getting a tattoo. The piece, placed betwixt her enarthrosis blades, featured Eugene’s sanction and his commencement and decease dates betwixt a brace of angel wings.

Following her sojourn to Winnipeg the erstwhile year, Tina begged Thelma to let her to sojourn Valentina again. Knowing she had a past of moving successful the enactment trade, Thelma placed a telephone to Valentina’s lawsuit workers to marque definite it was harmless for Tina, and allowed the visit. After Tina was discovered deceased, CFS claimed to person nary grounds of this enactment occurring.

Things grew worse for Tina erstwhile she began to constitute a unfortunate interaction connection successful regards to her father’s death. Her worsening behaviour and intelligence wellness prompted Thelma to petition successful April 2014 that her niece beryllium placed successful the attraction of CFS. A idiosyncratic met with the 15-year-old connected May 5, 2014, and a period aboriginal Tina was referred to counselling services successful Winnipeg and Beausejour. However, proscription issues prevented her from accessing these resources.

Thelma allowed Tina and her sister to sojourn Valentina astatine the extremity of June 2014. This clip around, she didn’t cheque into her lifestyle, meaning she was unaware that since Tina’s past visit, Valentina had mislaid custody of her children and was backmost connected the streets. On June 30, Thelma’s girl and lad volunteered to thrust the brace to Winnipeg, each with immoderate wealth and a calling card.

While Sarah ended up returning location with Samantha and Brian, Tina stayed. According to Sarah, Tina texted her galore photos during her clip successful Winnipeg, which showed her doing drugs and with bruises implicit her body. The second were the effect of Valentina and her fellow beating her.

DISAPPEARANCE:

Tina didn’t instrumentality to Sagkeeng First Nation and Thelma placed her successful the attraction of Manitoba Child and Family Services. From July 17-18, 2014, she was placed successful an country hotel, but ran distant and aboriginal told a societal idiosyncratic she was staying astatine a section radical home. According to Valentina, her girl lone stayed with her a fewer times, the past of which was July 22.

Tina’s aunt, Lana, aboriginal told constabulary she’d stayed with her implicit the August agelong weekend.

From July 23-29, Tina stayed astatine the Ndinawe Youth Resource Centre. On July 27, she was reported missing by a structure worker aft missing curfew. While she returned the adjacent afternoon, she missed curfew again connected July 30, prompting the structure to springiness distant her bed. For the 2nd time, she was reported missing to the Winnipeg Police Service.

On August 5, Tina called a CFS idiosyncratic and was picked up. On August 6, she made a telephone telephone to 911, saying a person by the sanction of “Sebastian” – existent sanction Raymond Cormier – had stolen a pickup truck. The dispatcher told her to telephone a antithetic fig and Tina disconnected.

A constabulary study from August 8 places Tina successful downtown Winnipeg. At 5:15am that morning, 2 officers spoke to her during a postulation halt connected Isabel Street, an country known for prostitution. They’d archetypal noticed the conveyance she was successful – a achromatic pickup motortruck – portion patrolling the Spence neighbourhood. They tried to attack it aft seeing it stopped adjacent Ellice Avenue and Furby Street, but the operator sped away.

When they caught up with the vehicle, the operator was taken into custody for driving with a suspended license. Tina was spoken to and initially refused to springiness them her existent name. She yet revealed her individuality and her sanction was tally done the system. While she was inactive considered missing successful the Winnipeg Police Service’s database, the officers claimed the strategy didn’t emblem her.

One of the officers asked wherever she was staying, to which Tina responded the Quest Inn connected Ellice Avenue. After declining a thrust to the location, she was fto go. Later, the 2 officers progressive successful the postulation halt were reassigned portion an interior probe occurred into the interaction.

Five hours later, Tina was recovered passed retired successful the parking batch down the Helen Better Osborne Centre connected Ellice Avenue by a University of Winnipeg information guard. Paramedics were called and she was transported to the Health Sciences Centre – Children’s Hospital.

While drowsy, she didn’t look to person suffered immoderate injuries. However, humor tests showed her humor intoxicant contented was 0.09, portion urine tests showed traces of alcohol, cannabinoids and cocaine successful her system. When confronted astir this, she admitted to having drunk 3 beers and taken gabapentin (known connected the thoroughfare arsenic “gabbies”) the erstwhile night. When questioned astir being sexually exploited, she refused to reply immoderate questions oregon acquisition a carnal exam.

Tina’s CFS idiosyncratic met her astatine the infirmary and took her to McDonald’s earlier driving her to the Best Western Charterhouse hotel. During the drive, the young miss confided successful the idiosyncratic that she and her boyfriend, Cody, had been hanging retired with a overmuch older antheral by the sanction of Sebastian, who’d promised to find her a bicycle. Concerned, the idiosyncratic told Tina that CFS could bargain her a motorcycle if she stayed successful their care, but she refused, saying she needed to conscionable friends astatine Portage Place.

In an interrogation with CBC News pursuing Tina’s death, an 18-year-old named Katrina helped capable successful the blanks surrounding Tina’s hospitalization. According to Katrina, she’d met Tina betwixt 10:00pm and 11:00pm connected August 7 and, fearing her person was drunk, took her to the Macdonald Youth Services – Youth Resource Centre & Emergency Shelter for nutrient and a spot to sleep. However, Tina refused to enactment and wouldn’t supply employees with her name.

An hr later, Katrina saw Tina leap into a motortruck with a radical of chartless men. Concerned, she flagged down a passing constabulary cruiser, whose officers stopped the conveyance and acceptable Tina free.

The adjacent clip Katrina saw Tina, it was 8:00pm connected August 8, aft she’d near the Best Western Charterhouse hotel. After informing Katrina of her day, the 2 hung retired until 3:00am the adjacent morning, erstwhile a antheral approached them connected Ellice Avenue and offered Tina wealth to execute a enactment act. The young miss accepted and near with the chartless individual, and portion Katrina tried to travel the duo, she mislaid show of them successful the darkness.

Later that day, August 9, Tina was erstwhile again reported missing.

According to Sarah, this was astir the clip she received her last substance from Tina, which was directed toward Thelma and Joseph. In it, she’d said, “Tell momma and poppa I emotion them and miss them, but I’m not acceptable to spell home.”

DEATH:

On August 17, 2014, Tina Fontaine’s assemblage was recovered wrapped successful integrative and a duvet screen successful the Red River, adjacent the Alexander Docks. It was discovered portion divers were searching for different Indigenous person, Faron Hall, who was seen struggling successful the h2o adjacent The Forks. He, too, would beryllium recovered deceased.

According to investigators, Tina’s assemblage had been weighed down successful the h2o with rocks, and owed to the level of decomposition, it took 4 hours for them to find the remains were that of a young female. She was aboriginal identified arsenic the missing 15-year-old by the tattoo connected her back.

Tina’s origin of decease could not beryllium determined, but owed to the circumstances was deemed a homicide. There were besides signs of intersexual assault. A toxicology study showed she had a important magnitude of marijuana successful her strategy and that her humor intoxicant level was 0.099. However, the toxicologist didn’t judge them to person contributed to her death, and noted the levels whitethorn person registered artificially precocious owed to decomposition and the information the tests were conducted connected chest-cavity fluid, arsenic opposed to blood.

Tina was buried connected the Sagkeeng First Nation adjacent to her father. On the archetypal day of her death, a memorial was placed connected the sedate site.

INVESTIGATION:

Investigators went door-to-door successful Winnipeg’s West End, arsenic that was the past determination they could spot Tina. They specifically focused connected Ellice Avenue, Langside Street and Furby Street, arsenic good arsenic the country astir Portage Place, asking if anyone had noticed thing suspicious.

The duvet Tina was recovered wrapped successful was a constituent of involvement for investigators, who launched an effort to find its owner. They soon learnt it was lone sold astatine Costco, and that 800 had been purchased successful the Winnipeg area. Of those, lone 100 radical cooperated, portion others said they’d since donated oregon gotten escaped of theirs.

On October 1, 2014, Raymond Cormier was arrested aft investigators received a tip. At the time, helium was already a fishy successful Tina’s lawsuit and had different outstanding warrants. He tried to evade arrest, but was caught and brought successful for interrogation. When asked wherefore helium ran, helium stated helium didn’t privation to spell to jail.

When questioned astir Tina, Cormier claimed to person lone known her for a fewer weeks. He said they’d met astir 5 oregon six times, and that the past clip helium saw her was days earlier her assemblage was found.

He explained that Tina had travel to the location helium was staying at, crying implicit Cody returning location to his location to St. Theresa Point. She near aft learning Cormier had sold her bicycle for 2 grams of marijuana. He followed her down Glenwood Crescent, astatine which constituent they got into an argument. Cormier claimed that arsenic they were walking, helium noticed a antheral crossed the street, whom helium described arsenic White with agelong hairsbreadth – akin to Robert Plant.

According to Cormier, he’d learned of Tina’s decease from the news.

Following their enactment with Cormier, investigators launched Project Styx. It ran from June to December 2015, and progressive galore undercover officers who wore signaling devices and engaged him successful 62 “scenarios” designed to elicit accusation astir Tina’s death. In bid to get adjacent to Cormier, they besides arranged for him to unrecorded successful an flat astatine 400 Logan Avenue, which was besides bugged.

The recordings obtained during this play played a cardinal portion successful the Crown’s case. A fig of them featured Cormier speaking to antithetic individuals astir Tina and her death. While helium ne'er admitted to sidesplitting the 15-year-old, helium did marque respective incriminating statements:

• July 2015 – In an enactment with an unidentified female, helium said: “15-year-old girl, fuck. I drew the enactment and that’s wherefore she got killed. She got killed. I’ll marque you a bet. She got killed due to the fact that we recovered out. I recovered retired she was 15 years old.”
• August 2015 – While utilizing drugs with a radical of chartless individuals, helium said: “Don’t overdose present due to the fact that past your body’s gonna beryllium wrapped up successful a fucking carpet and thrown successful the river.”
• November 2015 – In 1 of the past recordings, Cormier is heard talking to himself: “You deliberation you’ll get the execution retired of me. Hmm. That’s fuckin’ it, man. Get distant from me. Get distant from me.”

Project Styx culminated successful a sting cognition successful British Columbia, aft which Cormier was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded not blameworthy to the charge.

TRAIL:

Cormier’s proceedings began connected January 29, 2018. The Crown’s lawsuit was mostly circumstantial, arsenic investigators had been incapable to uncover immoderate forensic grounds connecting him to Tina. They argued Cormier killed Tina due to the fact that helium wished to person enactment with her, and erstwhile helium recovered retired she wasn’t 18, helium killed her due to the fact that helium didn’t privation to beryllium known arsenic a pedophile. This was based connected the recordings produced during Project Styx, on with witnesser grounds that placed Cormier and Tina unneurotic successful the days starring up to her death.

The assemblage besides heard grounds from witnesses who’d seen Cormier with the aforesaid benignant of duvet recovered wrapped astir Tina’s body. Two constabulary officers with the Winnipeg Police Service testified that Ida Beardy, who’d allowed Cormier to unrecorded successful a structure successful her backyard, had positively identified the duvet arsenic his, arsenic had her daughter.

The defence challenged the Crown’s evidence, saying their lawsuit was built connected inferences made from the recordings, which, for the astir part, were hard to decipher. They argued that the statements made connected them could not beryllium verified by conscionable listening to the audio, and pointed retired that Cormier ne'er outwardly admitted to sidesplitting Tina.

Cormier’s lawyers besides brought up the unreliability of witnesser testimony, and that a origin of decease hadn’t beryllium determined, meaning the assemblage couldn’t accidental with certainty that Tina had died of an unlawful act. As such, it was argued Cormier beryllium acquitted “on that alone”.

On February 22, 2018, aft 13 hours of deliberation, the assemblage of 7 women and 4 men acquitted Cormier of immoderate engagement successful Tina’s death. Less than a period later, connected March 13, 2018, prosecutors announced they wouldn’t beryllium appealing the decision.

In an interview with CBC successful March 2019, Cormier admitted to giving Tina marijuana, but denied sexually exploiting oregon sidesplitting her.

AFTERMATH:

Tina’s decease accrued the spotlight connected Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. It prompted a renewed telephone for a nationalist inquiry, led by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In the nonstop aftermath of her death, much than 1,000 radical took to the streets and dozens camped extracurricular the Manitoba legislature for weeks, demanding the authorities instrumentality a person look astatine the cases.

Winnipeg’s politician called for Canadians to “confront the shame and tragedy” of racism, portion Indigenous leaders petitioned for change. This led the province, nether the enactment of Premier Brian Pallister, to pledge an extremity to the marginalization of Indigenous women, and prompted the national authorities to motorboat the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Since Tina’s death, Katrina has begun moving with girls she meets connected the street, penning down the licence plates of the vehicles they get into, successful lawsuit thing were to hap to them. She’s said she felt a batch of guilt successful the months pursuing Tina’s death, but has since managed to determination on.

As Tina was being cared for by Child and Family Services, her lawsuit was reviewed by Manitoba’s Office of the Children’s Advocate. An interior probe was launched into however she managed to gaffe done the cracks, and connected June 1, 2015, CFS announced it would nary longer beryllium placing children successful hotels.

The lawsuit has prompted the instauration of galore unpaid groups wrong Winnipeg. One, known arsenic Drag the Red, regularly drags the Red River for bodies oregon grounds successful unfastened missing persons oregon homicide cases. Another is the Bear Clan Patrol, which promotes information and transgression prevention successful the city’s North End. Speaking astir his determination to signifier the group, organizer James Favel said, “When we archetypal started out, it was successful the aftermath of Tina Fontaine’s murder. Her eventual demise – the disrespect that was shown to her personhood – was the past straw for me, my household and my assemblage astatine large.”

Tina’s decease led the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to signifier the First Nations Family Advocate Office. There was besides the creation of the Strong Hearted Buffalo Women Crisis Stabilization Unit, a semi-secure situation involution programme for Indigenous women astatine hazard of intersexual exploitation.

In March 2018, the Manitoba authorities announced it would not telephone for a nationalist enquiry into Tina’s death. This sparked contiguous backlash from some Indigenous leaders and the province’s absorption parties.

Federal backing allowed the Ndinawe Youth Resource Center to rename itself “Tina’s Safe Haven” and motorboat a harmless abstraction for youth, which is unfastened 24/7.

In March 2021, Raymond Cormier was arrested successful Ottawa, Ontario for allegedly breaking into message and retention rooms, apartments, and parking garages astatine 4 antithetic complexes. It’s chartless however agelong he’d been residing successful the city, but astatine the clip of his apprehension helium was staying astatine a section stateless shelter.

CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Those with accusation regarding the decease of Tina Fontaine are asked to interaction the Winnipeg Police Service astatine (204) 986-6508 oregon Crime Stoppers astatine (204) 786-8477.

Image Credit: Wikipedia/Toronto Star

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