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The Murder of an Indigenous Woman in Winnipeg Is Reopening Old Wounds

The woman was a cousin of Tina Fontaine, whose 2014 murder sparked calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

A cousin of Tina Fontaine, whose murder sparked a national call for an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in 2014, died in hospital earlier this week after she was shot in the back of the head and her house was set on fire, according to reports from her family.

29-year-old Jeanenne Fontaine, the second Indigenous women shot and killed in Winnipeg since Sunday, was found inside of her burning home on Winnipeg's north end Tuesday, her family told the CBC.

They said Jeanenne was rushed to hospital, but was taken off life support late Wednesday morning. She was a mother of three.

Winnipeg police haven't confirmed her family's report, but are investigating the incident as a homicide and believe the fire was set deliberately. In an interview with the CBC, Constable Jason Michalyshen said Winnipeg police have visited the house Jeanenne was found in many times for a "variety of matters." A 22-year-old man was shot in the lower body at a house party there three months ago, which he recovered from.

Michalyshen said that while autopsy results are still pending, the shooting and injuries Jeanenne sustained from the fire are attributed to her death. He wouldn't confirm whether the shooting was random or targeted, but did say that investigators would probe any potential connections to gang or drug activity.

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