Man charged with 2nd-degree murder in Portage la Prairie double homicide: Manitoba RCMP
Preston Whitford, 30, accused in deaths of 42-year-old man and 37-year-old woman
A Portage la Prairie man has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after a man and woman were found dead inside a home in the southern Manitoba city last month, police say.
Preston Whitford, 30, is accused of the targeted killing of the 42-year-old man and 37-year-old woman, who were in a relationship.
He was located by Manitoba First Nations Police Service officers in Sandy Bay on Thursday and was taken into custody following a short pursuit.
The two victims were found dead inside a home on Oak Bay in the southern Manitoba city, about 85 kilometres west of Winnipeg, around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, RCMP said in a previous news release.
Mounties previously said two people visited that home a few hours before the victims were found dead, and they sped off in a maroon SUV.
The two victims were not identified to the public by police, but the family of the woman identified her as Emily Smoke. RCMP previously said the 42-year-old was active in the drug trade and had a criminal history, but told CBC News on Monday they cannot connect the killings to the drug trade at this time.
CBC News is not identifying the man at this time.
Manitoba RCMP's major crime services and Portage la Prairie RCMP continue to investigate.