In the days following a mass shooting at a Winnipeg rooming house, the accused shooter, Jamie Felix, confessed to his then-girlfriend that he pulled the trigger, killing five people. The woman testified that Felix fled to his grandmother’s home and used crack cocaine at a motel before admitting his guilt.
During the second week of Felix's jury trial, the former girlfriend recounted their three-year relationship, his worsening drug and alcohol addiction, and the moment he admitted to being at the scene of the killings. She testified that Felix was crying and shaking when he told her, “I killed people.”
Felix reportedly told her he was at the West Broadway neighbourhood rooming house, described as a “crack shack,” feeling uncomfortable but with nowhere else to go. The court heard Felix’s brother provided him with a gun and a bulletproof vest, making him feel like a “weapon.”
The five victims were identified as Crystal Beardy, 34; Stephanie Beardy, 33; Melelek Lesikel, 29; Dylan Lavallee, 41; and Shawn Marko, 56. Two died at the scene, two others in hospital, and Marko died last year after 18 months in intensive care.
Felix has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder. His ex-girlfriend also testified about his struggle with epilepsy, seizures, and his prescription medication, advising against mixing it with drugs or alcohol. She described him as a loving partner who battled addiction following his twin brother's death in a drug deal gone wrong.