Second man charged in murder of Vanessa Bone
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RCMP have laid murder charges against a second suspect in the case of a 33-year-old woman who was shot through her bedroom wall in the middle of the night in Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation last summer.
Yellowhead and Russell RCMP officers arrested Darion Burns, 31, of Keeseekoowenin on Thursday and charged him with first-degree murder, attempted murder and obstructing justice.
Officers located Burns driving on Highway 45, which runs from Erickson to Russell and passes by the First Nation.
Burns reportedly remains in custody. The arrest was made without incident during a traffic stop, RCMP said in a press release Friday.
News of the arrest has brought family members to tears and spurred feelings of relief, a sister of the victim said.
On July 28, 2025, at about 2:45 a.m., Vanessa Bone was lying in bed when more than 20 bullets pierced through the exterior wall of her home directly into her bedroom. She was struck by at least one bullet and killed. A 26-year-old man in the home was hit with a bullet and survived.
Tessa Bone, Vanessa’s sister, said family members have been anticipating more arrests in the months that have passed because a witness said they saw four people on the night of the attack. Thursday’s arrest has raised the family’s hopes that more people will eventually be caught, she said.
“It’s just relieving that (another) person has finally been arrested. Us crying together. It was just an emotional phone call,” Tessa said Friday. “This is seven months, we’ve had weight on us for this long. We’re just hoping that they do find everybody connected as well, everybody involved.”
The development in the case has restored hope in the family, she said.
“We haven’t been able to fully cope because of the fact that only one person had been arrested,” she said. “So that just has given us more hope.”
The arrest comes seven months after RCMP laid charges against the first suspect. In August 2025, RCMP identified Keeseekoowenin resident Frank La Forge, 52, as a wanted suspect in the case, and La Forge surrendered to police one week later in Winnipeg. He was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Family members last year told the Sun that roughly 40 bullets were fired into Vanessa’s home and they believed multiple people had been involved due to the high number of shots fired, but RCMP have not commented on the suspected number of firearms involved in the shooting.
» The Brandon Sun