Police released the name of the man they've arrested in connection with the death of Gina Swanson.
Schuyler Francis Van Wissen, 26, has been charged with first-degree murder and assault with a weapon. He was arrested in Toronto Saturday and has been brought back to Winnipeg, said officials. Police said he was not known to the victim.
CTV News was told the suspect often travelled to Toronto, but his family lives in Winnipeg. Sources say Van Wissen is known to police. Court records show a protection order was granted against him in 2008 in an unrelated incident.
Those who know him say he had a problem with drugs, went by the name Skyler and sometimes stayed with his parents, who live in the same neighbourhood as the woman he is now accused of killing.
On May 14, Swanson, 33, was found dead in her home on Edderton Avenue, bound and stabbed.
Swanson, a single mother, was supposed to show up for a shift at the liquor commission on the morning of May 14. When she didn't arrive, staff tried calling her cell phone and then her parents. Swanson's father, a retired police officer, found her body shortly before noon.
Police said the attack may have been a robbery gone wrong, though they could not provide more details Sunday.
At the time of her death police said a person of interest may have gone to the TD Bank on the 1300 block of Pembina between 5 and 8 a.m. on the morning Swanson's body was discovered.
Police said despite a lack of publicity about the case until now, it has been a top priority for investigators.
"I can assure you—and these results (the arrest) attest to that—that officers have been working diligently and very hard to solve this matter and certainly provide what little closure we can, for the family members," said Const. Jason Michalyshen.
The crime has left some in the neighbourhood on edge.
"People are sort of stirred up and frightened and sort of seeing shadows, I guess, with what happened," said neighbour Mike McLenehan. "It was pretty disturbing for a lot of people in the area."
Marilyn MacDonald lived next door to Swanson and said she was loved by everyone.
"It's just that she was such a friendly and nice lady. I just can't see why someone would want to do that, whether she knew them or not," she said.
-- with a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout
