More than 100 friends and family gathered in Carman, Friday evening to remember and honour the lives of five family members killed over the weekend.
Standing outside of the family’s home, community members lit candles in memory of the victims: 30-year-old Amanda Clearwater, six-year-old Bethany, four-year-old Jayven, two-and-a-half-month old Isabella and 17-year-old Myah-Lee Gratton.
Clearwater lived at the home with her three children, Gratton – who, though not related by blood, called Clearwater her aunt – and Clearwater’s common law partner Ryan Manoakeesick.
Clearwater and Manoakeesick both grew up in foster care in Woodlands in the Interlake and had been together since the age of 14. Clearwater attended and graduated from Warren Collegiate.
Manoakeesick has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in their deaths.
On Feb. 11, the five family members were found by RCMP at three different locations. At approximately 7:30 a.m., on Feb. 11, Carman RCMP responded to a report of a hit and run on Highway 3, approximately 6.5km south of Carman. When officers arrived, the body of Manoakeesick’s common-law partner was located just off the highway in a nearby ditch. She was pronounced deceased on scene.
At approximately 10 a.m., Headingley RCMP received a call of a vehicle on fire on Highway 248, north of PTH 424 in the RM of Cartier. The three young children were pulled from the burning vehicle. All three children were declared deceased on scene.
The RCMP confirmed that Manoakeesick removed the bodies of the children from the burning vehicle and was at the scene and taken into custody.
The 17-year-old niece was located deceased at the home she was living in.
All five victims lived together and were residents of Carman.
Autopsies of the bodies were conducted last week, but causes of death have yet to be released.
“Young, innocent lives were senselessly taken yesterday, and we grieve with all Manitobans,” said RCMP Inspector Tim Arseneault. “Our thoughts are also with the community of Carman, who are mourning the loss of an entire family.”
Last week, Gratton’s mother Juliette Hastings told media that her daughter was placed in the home by Winnipeg Child and Family Services (CFS) in April of 2023 despite repeatedly telling CFS workers that she feared the home was not safe. Her concerns fell on deaf ears.
In speaking with the press, Kinew said he is open to an inquest or inquiry into CFS following the deaths of the five victims.
“There is no context, there is no explanation that can make this OK,” said Kinew. “This is pure darkness. But I want to say to the people of Manitoba that we are not helpless in the face of darkness.”
Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth called on the provincial government to better support people facing intimate partner violence as it’s been estimated that about 20 per cent of all homicides in Canada are due to intimate partner violence.
According to studies, intimate partner violence claims a woman’s life every six days. And 2022 Statistics Canada data shows Manitoba has the second-highest rate of intimate partner violence among Canadian provinces, just behind Saskatchewan. However, the actual rates are likely even higher, as an estimated 80 per cent of domestic violence cases go unreported to law enforcement.
Court records reveal that Manoakeesick had a history of addiction and mental health issues, and was previously convicted of smashing an electronic display at a Tim Hortons location in Winnipeg while on methamphetamine.
At a court hearing in 2019, Manoakeesick received a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to mischief for destroying the display by throwing glass coffee mugs at it, as employees locked themselves in a back office and called 911.
A judge told him he had to get help before “things spiral completely out of control. If you don’t do something, eventually it’s going to cost you your family.”
Manoakeesick has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in their deaths. The charges have not been tested in court and he is expected to appear before a judge on Feb. 23.
Standard Photos by Lana Meier
A vigil held outside the home of Amanda Clearwater and her common-law partner, Ryan Manoakeesick, Friday evening was an opportunity to grieve the innocent lives that have been lost. Manoakeesick is facing five first-degree murder charges for the deaths of the mother of his children, Clearwater, their three children — six-year-old Bethany, four-year-old Jayven, and two-month-old Isabella and Myah-Lee Gratton, 17, a cousin of Clearwater
