Pregnant woman survives violent attack

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This article was published 08/06/2023 (1191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pregnant woman is in stable condition at a Winnipeg hospital after being violently attacked during a home invasion in Erickson Tuesday morning.

Candace Richardson’s sister-in-law, Michelle Dominey, told the Sun that the last update she heard about Richardson was that she was heading into surgery to remove the tip of a blade in her skull.

“She is talking and she’s stable and she’s going to be OK — she’s going to survive,” Dominey told the Sun in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “But in saying that, she has a lot of trauma to get through and her injuries were really terrible.”

Dominey said that Richardson was in an early stage of pregnancy when she was attacked. Richardson is still pregnant, Dominey said, and the hospital is monitoring the baby.

On Tuesday at around 1:55 a.m., Wasagaming RCMP responded to a report of a home invasion in Erickson, about 76 kilometres north of Brandon. RCMP stated that the victim had “significant but non-life-threatening injuries,” though Dominey said that Richardson received more than 10 stab wounds, including knife wounds to her head, neck and abdomen.

Dominey said that Richardson was airlifted to hospital in Winnipeg due to the seriousness of her injuries.

Mounties arrested an 18-year-old man from Erickson in connection with the home invasion on Wednesday at around 2:30 p.m. Investigators had been searching for a suspect, who remained at large until then. In a press release, RCMP said that the woman claimed to not know her attacker but that they believed that he was not a threat to the public.

When asked why the public was not at risk while the suspect was at large, media relations officer Sgt. Paul Manaigre said that at the time RCMP knew the identity of the suspect but were still trying to find him.

RCMP said that the 18-year-old remains in police custody and have not released any further details.

Rolling River School Division Supt. Jason Cline confirmed to the Winnipeg Free Press that a man was arrested outside Erickson Collegiate.

Meanwhile, the community of Erickson has rallied around Richardson and her fiancé, Scott McMunn, by raising money for the family. More than $18,000 has been raised for Richardson through a Gofundme page organized by the family.

The page on the fundraising website states that money will be used for uncovered medical expenses as well as accommodations for Richardson’s fiancé while she stays in a Winnipeg hospital, as well as living expenses while the couple is away from home.

“Our family is fundraising for this beautiful young lady Candace who is fighting for her life after being severely assaulted and stabbed while sleeping in her home,” the page, which was posted on Tuesday stated. The page states that a neighbour supported Richardson while she waited to be airlifted to Winnipeg. She received severe injuries to her head and throat, the page stated.

Dominey told the Sun that McMunn is spoon-feeding Richardson as she can’t eat anything other than applesauce because she was stabbed in the mouth and jaw during the attack.

However, while she is badly injured, Richardson has been alert and able to speak and describe the attack, the details of which were relayed by Dominey and McMunn to a Free Press reporter.

In separate interviews with the Free Press, Dominey and McMunn said the suspect broke into Richardson’s home after midnight and assaulted her while she was sleeping.

Confused and terrified, she pleaded with her attacker, telling him she was five weeks pregnant, Dominey said.

Richardson escaped and ran to a neighbouring home, where she collapsed. The homeowner, who is trained as a nurse, applied pressure to her wounds while her husband called an ambulance, she said.

RCMP were unable to confirm the injuries to the Sun.

Victor Baraniuk, the mayor of Clanwilliam-Erickson, said that the support Richardson and McMunn have received has made him proud of the community.

“When people are in trouble, everyone knows everybody in a small community like this … and boy, did we ever pull together when someone needs something,” Baraniuk said. “And I commend all the people for doing that.”

However, he said the attack has left the community uneasy, as the incident he said is uncommon for a town that has always been safe, he told the Sun.

“I know that a lot of people are shaken. It will take a little while to get over that. But I’m hopeful that things will resume the way they were,” he said.

Dominey emphasized the impact of the attack on the whole family and said that she hasn’t had sleep in the last two days.

“Just knowing that it could happen so randomly to someone you know … the fact that somebody could just be unarmed, just lying in bed, defenceless and just get attacked is terrifying,” she said.

Manaigre previously told the Sun that investigators could not confirm conclusively that the attack was random.

Baraniuk said that Richardson and McMunn are well-liked members of the community and manage a local restaurant, McMunney’s.

“They’re good, fine, upstanding citizens,” Baraniuk said. “I can’t believe something so awful could happen to people who have never done any arm to anyone.”

Dominey said that the couple, who have been together for 11 years have owned and managed the restaurant for just under a year.

Both Richardson and McMunn are chefs, and Richardson, who is from Winnipeg, was living in British Columbia with McMunn. McMunn moved back to his hometown of Erickson before Richardson came to join him. She had stayed in B.C for a few months, running the couple’s food truck by herself.

“She’s always just been a really independent, hard-working person,” Dominey said.

Dominey said that Richardson and Scott have received numerous messages of support from the community and said that the couple is very grateful. She said that she wasn’t sure how long Richardson is expected to stay in hospital, but says that Richardson’s journey of healing will take some time.

“She’s just the kind of person that can get through things,” Dominey said. “And I think that’s the only reason why she survived this.”

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press

» Twitter: @geena_mortfield