The family of a woman who died after being badly beaten is desperate for answers.
Joanne Neepin, 42, died of her injuries in hospital Monday. On Oct. 27, emergency responders found her injured at the Four Crowns Inn Hotel on McPhillips Street.
Police are calling the death suspicious.
“We hear stories of murdered women and you never expect it to happen to you,” Lorraine Kirkness-Wilson. “If somebody witnessed anything, please contact the police and let them know. Any minor detail. We need answers.”
Arieh Kravets, the owner of the Four Crowns Inn Hotel, said Neepin had been staying at the hotel alone for four nights. He said staff called 9-1-1 after she didn’t check out and they found her in her room, badly bruised.
He believes she was beat up elsewhere and chose to stay the night.
“She was physically injured. You could see a bruise on her face, but she was coherent,” said Kravets.
She said paramedics took Neepin to hospital, but the next day she returned to the hotel.
“She fell on the stairs. She was unable to speak to us on the stairs and that’s when we called them (paramedics) again and asked them to come pick her up,” Kravets said.
Neepin’s family said she was living in Winnipeg and worked for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries for nearly 20 years. Her aunt said the 42-year-old ran marathons, loved to travel and danced in pow-wows across Canada.
“This is just unbelievable. I can’t believe this,” said Kirkness-Wilson sitting in a hotel lobby, surrounded by family.
The large family was waiting for a bus to head to Gillam, where Neepin was born. Neepin’s funeral is this weekend.
