Bud Paul homicide: Winnipeg man charged with first-degree murder

A Winnipeg man has been accused of first-degree murder in the August 2020 homicide of 56-year-old Bud Paul following an investigation that spanned at least three communities across Manitoba, the RCMP said Thursday.

Paul’s body was discovered Aug. 11, 2020, in deep brush in Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg and investigators deemed his death a homicide.

Aaron Stewart Mousseau, 41, was arrested Tuesday in Winnipeg and charged with first-degree murder.

Sabrina Clarke, Bud Paul’s stepdaughter, said the arrest brings her family a sense of relief.

“It was a very emotional day,” Clarke said. “As a family we’re hoping that this can be the start to get some closure and some healing but no one really ever recovers from a loss like this.”

Investigators wouldn’t say how, where or when they believe Paul was killed and couldn’t comment on any possible motive, but arrest information reviewed by CTV News Winnipeg indicates police believe the homicide happened on Aug. 3, 2020, in or around Roseau River First Nation where Paul’s body was found.

The charge of first-degree murder suggests they believe the killing was planned and deliberate.

“This was a long and difficult investigation that required specialized police units from both the Winnipeg Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as significant investigational support by the Manitoba First Nations Police Service,” said Supt. Rob Lasson, officer in charge of Manitoba RCMP Major Crime Services. “We recognize that this was a very lengthy investigation and we greatly appreciate the public’s patience. We hope that this arrest brings some closure to Bud’s family.”

While two suspects known to Paul who were seen with him in the lead-up to the discovery of his body were identified months after his disappearance, the charge comes more than two years after he was reported missing.

Paul’s coworker first contacted police on Aug. 7, 2020, when Paul didn’t show up for work and couldn’t be reached for a number of days.

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) launched a missing persons investigation and three days later on Aug. 10, 2020, Paul’s burned-out vehicle was located on Queen Street in Winnipeg.

“The vehicle was significant, I will say that, in the investigation,” Lasson said. “And we do have the vehicle on surveillance going throughout Manitoba with these three individuals but I won’t go into any more details on the use of the vehicle.”

A joint investigation involving officers from the RCMP, WPS and Manitoba First Nations Police Service led detectives to Neepawa, Man. about 185 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg where surveillance video from a liquor store showed Paul with two other people on Aug. 1, 2020, which was the last known sighting of Paul prior to his death.

Police searched Paul’s Winnipeg home on Dec. 17, 2020, which is when two suspects were identified as a 36-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man who were both known to Paul.

The woman was arrested on Dec. 20, 2020, questioned and later released without charges.

Investigators said officers conducted multiple interviews and followed up on tips between Jan. 2021 and July 2022 and had forensic evidence examined by the RCMP laboratory in Ottawa and a lab in the United States.

The RCMP said forensic evidence, tips from the public and witness statements led to Mousseau’s arrest.

Police said he’s the 39-year-old man who was initially identified as a suspect in Dec. 2020.

According to a recent sentencing hearing on an unrelated matter, Mousseau also goes by the last name Abigosis and has a lengthy criminal record.

He pleaded guilty to four charges this past December including possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of bear mace stemming from an incident in October 2021. He was given a total jail sentence of four months.

Court heard Mousseau, who’s originally from Sandy Bay, has struggled with addiction and that amphetamines were found after his arrest on the unrelated matter last October.

Clarke said she doesn't know him. She's focused on remembering her stepfather who was in a relationship with her mother for 15 years up until she died in 2016.

"He was funny and loving,” Clarke said. “I think about the way he took care of my mom and he loved her and made her happy and how he looked at me and my children as his own, not just his wife's family.”

“We go through moments of trying to find peace in the fact that he’s with my mom and he’s in a better place and trying to find comfort in those things but it’s been very hard.”

One of the most difficult parts is not knowing more about the circumstances surrounding her stepdad’s death.

“I’m not entirely sure if they’re the type of questions that’ll ever get answered,” Clarke said. “It’d be nice to know why somebody felt the need to take his life or why they didn’t feel like it was important.”

Mousseau remains in custody.

None of the allegations against him have been tested in court.

Police said no further charges are expected at this time.