Manitoba RCMP are holding a news conference to announce “a major advancement in a double homicide investigation.”
Police say the conference, at the RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg, will contain details that could be disturbing to members of the public.
CBC News is livestreaming it here and on CBC Gem.
The remains of Brent Denechezhe, 31, and Leona Tssessaze, 24, were found after a September 2021 house fire on the remote Northlands Denesuline First Nation, located at Lac Brochet.
The deaths were determined to be homicides and the investigation has been ongoing since then.
In April 2022, RCMP issued a news release, asking the public for help. It included emotional interviews with family members and a version of the release was translated in Dënesųłiné — the first time Mounties in the province have issued a news release in an Indigenous language.
Statements from family members will also be made on Thursday, but they will not be in attendance, RCMP said.
The news conference will be attended by Northlands Denesuline First Nation chief Simon Denchezhe, Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, representatives from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, provincial Justice Minister Matt Wiebe and Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine.
Northlands Denesuline is located about 1,000 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg and accessible only by air or winter roads.