'He's traumatized' says woman after brother's charges in St-Georges killings dropped
Crown has stayed charges against 26-year-old Jason Andrew Bruyere in the killing of 2 men in Manitoba town
While charges against one man in connection with a double homicide in a small Manitoba town may have been dropped, his sister says their family is still trying to come to terms with the aftermath of the killings and the man's arrest.
Erin Bruyere's brother, 26-year-old Jason Andrew Bruyere, was originally charged with second-degree murder and weapons offences following the late February killing of two men in St-Georges, Man., 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
On Friday, the Crown stayed all of the charges against Bruyere.
Erin Bruyere says her brother was friends with both victims, Jody Brown, 43, and Steven Chevrefils, 35.
The men were found dead on Feb. 28 inside the St-Georges home where they lived together. RCMP have said they were victims of a "targeted shooting" and arrested Jason Bruyere on March 2.
- St-Georges double homicide was a targeted shooting, say RCMP
- 2 men dead in St-Georges double homicide, RCMP say
But Erin Bruyere says she knew he wasn't to blame as soon as he was arrested.
"I think it's horrible what has happened. It's a tragedy for the whole community. It's beyond [that]," she said.
While Bruyere hasn't seen her brother in the past few days, she's spoken to him and says he's traumatized and paranoid over the events of the past week.
"He's been through so much in the last week. He just lost two of his really good friends and he was blamed and framed for what has happened."
Bruyere has typed her brother's name into Google and pages upon pages of stories connecting her brother to the killings pop up.
'Never, ever do anything to hurt anyone'
"My brother is the most humble, generous, loving, caring, man that I have ever known," says Bruyere. "He has the softest heart and would never, ever do anything to hurt anyone like that."
Bruyere says she doesn't know how their family will ever recover, but they plan to undergo counselling to figure out how to best move forward.
She says they've been so preoccupied that they haven't even had a chance to properly grieve the loss of their two friends.
"Jody has been a family friend for years. He worked with my brother back in 2010. They were [like] brothers. They were always together. He was just a part of the family. He was a wonderful man," Bruyere said.
"I'm blown away. I'm devastated."
Bruyere, her brother and the rest of the family will be attending the funerals for the two men. She says her brother is thinking about writing a letter that could be read at the funeral.
But for now, Bruyere offers her condolences to both Brown and Chevrefils' families, and she's hoping her brother's name will be cleared once and for all.
Brown's funeral will take place Thursday, while Chevrefils' will be held Saturday.
RCMP are continuing to investigate the killings.