Police probe death at house known as 'murder mansion'

Winnipeg police are trying to figure out what happened to a man who was found bloodied and unconscious inside a rooming house commonly known as "murder mansion."

The injured man was discovered on Tuesday by a woman who also lives in the rooming house, located on the 600 block of Balmoral Street near Cumberland Avenue.

"I looked twice and I'm like, 'Oh my God' and I literally, my heart stopped," Nicola Chadha told CBC News.

The man, who she called Ron, has since died, police said on Wednesday. It is the third death in the past five years at the large residence.

Police were called there at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and were still there as of Wednesday afternoon.

Const. Eric Hofley said the man's death is being treated as suspicious.

"A serious assault occurred, and when members arrived, the male had unfortunately already passed away," Hofley said.

Chadha said she called her caretaker after finding her friend, and the caretaker called police. She spent the night answering questions at the police station.

Was known for drug busts, violence

The house is well-known to police for drug busts and serious violence. In 2008, a man was killed in the house and in 2009, a woman was stabbed to death.

Chadha said the violence has prompted the nickname "murder mansion." Others have also used the name in reference to the house when speaking to CBC News.

But Jeff Shwaluk, who bought the rooming house three years ago and currently lives there, said the building is rid of drug dealers, gang members and others who used to hang around there.

These days, Shwaluk said the majority of the approximately 20 people who live in the rooming house are seniors, while the rest are his friends.

"The floor it actually happened on is full of seniors, you know, and they're all just friends," he said.

"It's, like, a super-quiet floor, and I was really saddened and shocked that it would have happened there."

Police say the number of calls for help at that address have gone down recently.

"It is kind of like a big family in there, you know? We're all friends, it's [a] really good vibe in there now, and it's so sad that this happens," Shwaluk said.

Caretaker fixing place up

Adrienne Abraham said Shwaluk, as the building's caretaker, has worked hard to fix the place up.

Abraham, who volunteers time to help out, said the tenants are easy to deal with for the most part.

"They're nice, they're all good people. It's just when it comes to drinking, they can get set off," she said.

Abraham said the caretaker has done a lot of things to address the problems, including putting in cameras.

"It used to just be a gang place. Once the new caretaker came in, he fixed it up, kicked out all the druggies. Now it's just only drinkers," she said.

Winnipeg police are now asking anyone with information to contact the homicide unit at (204) 986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at (204) 786-8477.