A mother was found murdered in her home Tuesday night and minutes later her former husband perished in a car crash, leaving two children without parents.
Winnipeg police said Samantha Pourchamani, 35, was found dead by relatives at a residence in the 500 block of Island Shore Boulevard in the Island Lakes area on May 1. Police were called around 5:40 p.m.
Officers said the killing is connected to a fatal crash that unfolded minutes later.
Around 6 p.m. Tuesday, Morris RCMP were called to a collision on Highway 205, just east of Rosenort.
A car collided head-on with a westbound semi trailer, said police. The 49-year-old male driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver was not injured.
Sources identified the man killed in the crash as Siyabash Pourchamani.
Winnipeg police said the homicide investigation and fatal crash are being treated as a "domestic related matter."
"There should have been a better way to handling their problems. I'm sad for the family. Two children have to face life on their own," said Michael Chernecki, a neighbour.
While they are not looking for any other suspects, police are hesitant at this point to confirm the case is a murder-suicide.
"Despite the unique circumstances of both of these incidents and the magnitude - we still have to do our due diligence," said Const. Jason Michalyshen from Winnipeg police.
To officially call the case a murder-suicide, police must confirm the car crash was deliberate and that the man didn't just panic while trying to leave a crime scene.
Court documents show the couple filed for divorce in 2005 and that they shared joint custody of their two children – a son and a daughter. The couple was in the process of finalizing the sale of their home and child-support details. Their next court date had been set for May 15.
Winnipeg police and RCMP continue to investigate the deaths.
- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
