Kevin Klassen charged with killing Christina Stoyko on Redwood in Winnipeg
CBC News | Posted: April 26, 2016 7:06 PM | Last Updated: April 27, 2016
New protection order legislation slated to come into effect in mid-May, province says
Kevin Klassen, 37, has been charged with the second-degree murder of Christina Stoyko, 39, who was found dead in a home on Redwood Avenue in Winnipeg's North End on Saturday.
Klassen is also charged with disobeying a court order and failing to comply with a protection order that banned him from possessing a weapon.
Police found Stoyko dead in the home on Redwood between Andrews and McGregor Streets on Saturday morning.
The pair had been dating, her stepfather from Thompson, Maurice Benson said, but court records show Stoyko filed a protection order against Klassen just before Christmas in December 2015.
Following a series of domestic violence cases that turned fatal last fall, then-justice minister Gord Mackintosh said the province would strengthen legislation and make it easier for victims to obtain protection orders.
- Winnipeg woman's death prompts pledge to make protection orders easier to obtain
- 54% of protection orders denied: Manitoba attorney general
- Manitoba wants to include gun bans in protection orders in domestic violence cases
An amendment to Manitoba's protection order legislation was voted through March 16, and the changes came into effect May 15, 2016, a spokesperson with the province said.
Stoyko's dad 'didn't really like' Klassen
Benson said he wasn't comfortable with his daughter's relationship with Klassen, although he only met him a few times.
"It seemed OK, but I didn't really feel comfortable with him, because he'd already done time in jail," he said. "I didn't like him really."
Klassen pleaded guilty to assault in 2013, but it isn't clear at this point who the victim was.
Benson said he could not have asked for a better daughter.
"She was a very outgoing person. Never known anyone to hate her. She was happy-go-lucky. She was just fantastic," he said.
Joseph Therrien, who lives across the street from the home where Stoyko was found, told CBC News on the weekend that he heard people arguing before police arrived.
"I was downstairs watching TV. I can hear a bunch of yelling and then that was it, and then it went quiet," he said.
"Next thing you know, I hear a bunch of sirens. I'm thinking, 'They're going to [drive past], of course.' But it just abruptly stops here."