Coral Harbour teen charged in Winnipeg killing

Officers from the Winnipeg police homicide unit traveled to Coral Harbour last weekend to apprehend a 16-year old in connection with the bludgeoning death of Brian Alexander Wellard, a retired Winnipegger, the Winnipeg Sun reports.

Wellard’s decomposing body was found in his appartment on the morning of Sept. 20. An autopsy confirmed that he died of blunt trauma.

Police had released the victim’s photo to the media and made a public plea for leads in the case. Last month, after identifying a suspect, investigators consulted the Crown attorney’s office, and on Oct. 18, the Crown authorized a Canada-wide arrest warrant for the person on a charge of second-degree murder.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested last weekend at his father’s home in Coral Harbour. Investigators returned to Winnipeg this past Monday with the boy, who was detained at the Manitoba Youth Centre.

Wellard, a retired school bus driver, was a volunteer handyman at the Nine Circles Community Health Centre, a clinic that provides support for people who are HIV-positive or affected by AIDS.