Winnipeg woman ‘frustrated’ after being kept in the dark on home intruder’s prosecution

A gavel sits on a desk in Ottawa, Wednesday Feb. 13, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

A Winnipeg woman who feared for her life during a home invasion is calling for judicial reform after not being informed of the accused’s status or given the chance to deliver a victim impact statement. She later discovered that the charges had been stayed.

In August 2022, the woman—who is not being named due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act—said she was asleep during the early morning when an intruder broke into her house through the kitchen window.

She said the rummaging noise in her kitchen, only feet away from her bedroom, woke her up and prompted her to call 911.

“My bedroom door does not lock, so the (911 operator) told me to stay between the bed and the wall,” she told CTV News. “It’s minutes, but it feels like it’s 10 hours, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re trying to stay calm. You’re trying not to cry.”

She said the accused, a minor at the time, fled her house and was subsequently arrested and released by the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS). She also said the accused lived across the street in a group home.

A spokesperson for the WPS confirmed to CTV News the date of the incident and that an arrest was made, but would not provide additional information due to the accused’s age.

Over the next three years, the Winnipeg resident said she was never updated by the Crown prosector’s office or anyone on the case—only to learn that the charges had been stayed during a September 2025 court hearing after reaching out to Manitoba Justice Victim Services.

“Finally, after a few years, (I) hadn’t heard anything. I thought, ‘he must be in jail and somebody forgot to tell me,’” she said. “So I called Victim Services, and they said, ‘…all charges have been dropped, and he’s out.”

In a letter addressed to the woman from Manitoba Justice Victim Services and reviewed by CTV News, it says court proceedings in the matter have concluded and that “any protective conditions that were imposed when the accused was released on these charges are no longer in place.”

“I was disheartened. I cried a lot,” she said. “Maybe we don’t have a perfect system, but maybe there are changes that could be made … I’m sure there’s other victims that have never had a say.”

She wishes she had the chance to provide a victim impact statement during the court proceeding and was kept up to date on the case throughout the years.

“Where’s the victim’s voice? Where’s my saying that I haven’t opened up my kitchen window in two years, that I still don’t sleep great, that I don’t sleep great when my grandson’s here, because I’m so afraid,” she said.

‘She’s not alone in not knowing how to progress’: Victim’s advocate

Karen Wiebe, executive director of the Manitoba Organization for Victim Assistance (MOVA), said it seems that there’s been a “couple of slip ups,” adding that a victim should know what’s going on.

Wiebe said that although MOVA works exclusively with victims of homicide, in cases like this, the WPS victim services department and Manitoba Justice Victim Services usually contacts the victim.

“And (Manitoba Justice Victim Services) is the one that tells people there’s going to be a court case, … tells them the dates of when there’s going to be a trial, and so on and so forth. So, it’s their responsibility to let her know all of that information,” Wiebe said.

“How does the average citizen know that they should contact Victim Services or what the steps are that they should follow? She’s not alone in not knowing how to progress from there.”

In a statement from a provincial spokesperson, they said Manitoba Prosecution Service works to address the needs of victims all at all stages during court proceedings.

“Manitoba’s Victims’ Bill of Rights outlines how information on prosecutions may be made available, when requested by victims,” reads the statement.

The woman said she has also sent a letter to Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe to address her concerns.

-With files from CTV’s Harrison Shin