Murder charge laid in stabbing death
Roberta Lynn Sabourin dead after police respond to bloody scene in Hay River high rise
Sarah Ladik
Northern News Services
Saturday, April 11, 2015
HAY RIVER
One woman is dead and another charged with second degree murder after police responded to a report of a stabbing at Hay River's Mackenzie Place High Rise last week.
Roberta Lynn Sabourin, 42, is dead after a stabbing incident at Hay River's Mackenzie Place High Rise. Lori Roberta Hansen, 41, has been charged with second-degree murder. - Facebook photo
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The RCMP have not released the name of the victim but family members have confirmed that the deceased is Roberta Lynn Sabourin, 42, of Hay River. The police issued a news release April 10, stating that 41-year-old Lori Roberta Hansen, also of Hay River, has been charged with Sabourin's murder and was in RCMP custody awaiting a court appearance April 13.
Police state that officers responded to reports of a stabbing shortly after 9:30 p.m. on April 8, where they found the victim receiving CPR from other residents in the building.
"I was pretty worked up," said fellow-high rise resident Merissa Maurice who came upon the scene on the seventh floor of the building after the police had already arrived.
"I saw her in the hallway, getting CPR, but covered in blood . I knew she was gone," said Maurice.
She said she left her apartment on the eighth floor of the high rise when she saw police drive up to the building. She heard from other residents that officers had been called to the seventh floor and came upon Sabourin there.
"I didn't see the cops right away," she said. "But then I heard them in an apartment, and I heard a woman shouting 'I didn't (expletive) do it!' and then I heard the cops saying she was under arrest."
The incident is the latest suspicious death in the high rise and follows a sexual assault that took place in the building last month.
Benedict "Benny" Corrigal was convicted last month of manslaughter and second degree murder in the deaths of his ex-girlfriend Carol Buggins and her boyfriend Garfield McPherson in June 2012. Corrigial stabbed the couple to death with a kitchen knife after a night of heavy drinking. He is to be sentenced for the crime May 12.
In 2010, a women fell to her death from the 17-storey building.
While some residents say they are concerned about the incidents in light of the most recent death, building manager Blaine Maillet said he is not worried for the safety of the people living there.
"I am watchful," said Maillet, who declined to comment on the latest homicide.
Many Facebook messages of condolence and remembrance have been left on Sabourin's profile page and a relative, Nicole Sabourin, has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help relatives in Alberta and British Columbia return to Hay River for the funeral. The campaign surpassed its $5,000 goal in less than 24 hours.
