Yukon RCMP offered some new details Tuesday on three recent deaths in Whitehorse

In a joint afternoon press conference with the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Whitehorse RCMP said the death of Greg Dawson, 45, is now being investigated as a homicide.

And it is unrelated to the double homicide of Wendy Carlick, 51, and Sarah MacIntosh, 53.

Additionally, they said, there is currently no evidence to suggest that these deaths are related to the 2007 death of Angel Carlick (Wendy’s daughter), which remains unsolved.

But they offered little detail on the cause of the deaths, circumstances surrounding the deaths, or the crime scenes, due to the ongoing investigations.

In his opening statement, Insp. Archie Thompson acknowledged that Whitehorse residents have questions and concerns, and that rumours about the deaths have been circulating in the community.

“To date, there has been a great deal of speculation regarding how the victims died,” he said.

“Given the digital world we live in, information about the victims and their deaths began circulating on social media almost immediately.”

Thompson was pressed on the RCMP’s delayed public release of details in the deaths of Carlick and MacIntosh, including their names and the fact that there were two deceased.

He said this was due to the priority of contacting family members.

“We wanted to make sure that they understood the investigation of both deaths were considered homicides and there was going to be a release of the names,” he said.

“While people may have known in the community and it may have leaked out through social media, we had not yet been able to contact family members to let everybody know.”

Kwanlin Dün Chief Doris Bill noted that this is a difficult time for the community, and friends and family of the deceased.

“This tragedy has opened old wounds in our community. There are now four unsolved murders directly affecting our community,” she said.

“We encourage all residents to come together for support and to come forward with any information. These crimes must be solved.”

She added, “Our community right now is in shock, we’re in disbelief and numb, there’s a lot of questions being asked and not a lot of answers coming forward.”

She noted that there are outreach supports available in the community.

Those include a sacred fire that was lit for 48 hours at the McIntyre baseball diamond, counselling and grief supports available through the First Nation’s Departments of Justice and Health, and more patrols in the community.

She also spoke about ongoing efforts by the First Nation to improve community safety.

Gina Nagano, the acting director of Justice for Kwanlin Dün, said between 2014 and 2016 there was about a 40 per cent drop in calls to RCMP from the McIntyre subdivision.

“The community safety programs and services that we did put in place are working, they are decreasing calls to the RCMP, we’ve made tremendous strides in the community. What happened here happened behind closed doors,” said Chief Bill.

Late last year, Kwanlin Dün received funding for a three-year community safety program.

Nagano said 15 candidates from Kwanlin Dün and other First Nation communities are currently in the fourth week of training and are expected to graduate from the accredited certificate program on May 5.

Kwanlin Dün also has a community safety and security development officer working in the community. And Insp. Thomson said two RCMP officers are regularly stationed in the community.

Chief Bill noted she is aware some are skeptical that the cases will be solved but she believes supporting the RCMP is what will move them forward.

“If anybody has information come forward and talk to the RCMP no matter how little that information may seem, you just never know,” she said.

In the current murder investigations, Insp. Thompson said 35 officers have been engaged, including many from specialized units within the RCMP. They have spoken with more than 100 people and taken 55 statements to date.

He also said that there is no indication of an immediate risk to the public.

“From what I know, and I can’t speak to specifics within the investigation, we have no concrete information to suggest that any other citizen is at risk at this point,” he said.

But on whether the three recent murders indicate a trend or shift in the level of violence in the city, he said it is too early tell but is something they intend to look into.

On the evening of April 6, RCMP found the body of Dawson at a residence in Riverdale.

Following the results of an autopsy, police announced last Thursday that foul play could not be ruled out, and his death was being treated as “suspicious”.

Last Wednesday morning, the RCMP responded to a call in the McIntyre subdivision, and found the bodies of Carlick and MacIntosh at a residence at 19 Murphy Rd.

Police originally issued a press release stating there was only one death at the home.

They confirmed two days later that the bodies of two women were found on scene. They released the names of Carlick and MacIntosh last Friday and said the deaths were being investigated as homicides.

Both Dawson and MacIntosh were members of Kwanlin Dün.

And Carlick was the mother of Angel Carlick, who was reported missing from Whitehorse in May 2007. Her body was found six months later in a forested area near the Pilot Mountain subdivision in the city.

Carlick was an advocate for the cause of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and wanted to share her daughter’s story with the national inquiry.

Chief Bill is the co-chair of the Yukon Regional Advisory Committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and said the recent deaths indicate the importance of the inquiry.

“I think it underscores how important the inquiry is to here and how important it is for the inquiry to hear from families who have experienced this kind of trauma and what they go through and the lack of supports that are out there for these families,” she said.

“I think it’s extremely important and not only for all the indigenous women who have been missing and murdered out there but for the indigenous men who have been missing and murdered out there as well.”

Commissioners from the national inquiry held a preliminary regional meeting in Whitehorse earlier this month, where they met with more than 50 family members, friends and survivors, and about a dozen organizations.

The inquiry is slated to begins its hearings or truth-finding gatherings in Whitehorse on May 29.

But the inquiry has faced criticism for issues including delays, with some calling for a boycott or for the inquiry to be reset.

The inquiry recently announced that scheduled preliminary meetings in Thunder Bay, Ont. and Edmonton would be postponed but said hearings will begin as scheduled.

The $53.8-million independent inquiry was officially launched last August by the federal Liberal government.

Whitehorse RCMP are asking anyone with information on the deaths to come forward.

If they prefer to remain anonymous, they can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.crimestoppersyukon.ca.

“If you know something, saw something or heard something, please come forward,” said Insp. Thompson.

“Don’t assume that we already know what you know.”

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