{"id":511270,"date":"2026-03-03T08:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T08:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/511270\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T08:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T08:56:13","slug":"late-dad-not-accused-to-blame-for-quintuple-murder-defence-argues-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/511270\/","title":{"rendered":"Late dad, not accused, to blame for quintuple murder, defence argues \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A man on trial for murdering five people at a Langside Street crack house was a \u201cpatsy\u201d for the real killer \u2014 his now dead father, defence lawyers argued Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Jamie Felix was made to believe he was responsible for the killings by his father Randolph \u201cChummy\u201d Fagnan, a longtime gang member with ties to the crack house, defence lawyer Ted Mariash alleged in a closing argument to jurors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI say the evidence conclusively proves that Mr. Felix\u2019s own father, Chummy Fagnan, orchestrated and planned these murders and in so doing set up Mr. Felix to take the fall,\u201d Mariash said.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4024123_web1_Felix.jpg\" data-pswp- data-pswp-width=\"1000\" data-pswp-height=\"998\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4024123_web1_Felix.jpg\" alt=\"Instagram&#10;                                Jamie Felix, 32.\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instagram<\/p>\n<p>Jamie Felix, 32.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChummy chose Mr. Felix because he was the perfect patsy,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone fell for Chummy\u2019s spiderweb of illusions he had spun for the Winnipeg Police Service, Manitoba Justice, Mr. Felix\u2019s own mother and Mr. Felix himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Felix, 35, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder in the Nov. 26, 2023, shootings of Crystal Beardy, 34; her sister Stephanie Beardy, 33; Melelek Lesikel, 29; Dylan Lavallee, 41; and Shawn Marko, 56.<\/p>\n<p>Jurors have heard Felix spent several years in the military and struggled with substance abuse since the 2012 killing of his twin brother following a drug deal arranged by his father.<\/p>\n<p>Court heard evidence Felix spent three days at the drug house, smoking crack and drinking, when on the evening of the murders he was joined by his father, his sister Savannah Fagnan and brother Kyle Houle, all of whom were allegedly immersed in the drug trade.<\/p>\n<p>In the days following the shootings, Felix allegedly confessed to his then girlfriend \u201cI killed people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The woman, who cannot be identified by name due to a publication ban, testified Felix told her his brother provided him a bulletproof vest in plain view of others at the drug house and gave him a gun.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJamie said he felt scared and like he was being used as a weapon because he was the biggest guy there and (because of) his military background,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Felix said his father took him outside to the back lane where he told Felix to fire the gun, before returning to the drug house, the woman told jurors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said everything was blurring after that,\u201d the woman said. She asked Felix if he was sure he shot somebody.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said yes, because he remembered it in bits and pieces,\u201d she said. Felix appeared confused and upset and described the faces of people inside the crack house as \u201cf\u2014-ed up,\u201d the woman said.<\/p>\n<p>Felix told her he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, but there were no bullets left. He then ran out of the crack house, eventually making his way to his grandmother\u2019s downtown apartment.<\/p>\n<p>Mariash alleged Chummy had Felix fire the gun outside as a signal to the real killers and that when they returned to the crack house two minutes later, the victims had already been shot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Felix) was led back into (the crack house) by his own father, looked at the bodies and heard (Fagnan say): \u2018Jamie what have you done?\u2019\u201d Mariash said.<\/p>\n<p>Mariash speculated the motive for the killings was a robbery. Xena Hall, Fagnan\u2019s then girlfriend, testified she had been at the crack house at the time of the shooting and, at Fagnan\u2019s direction, grabbed a bag of drugs when she fled the drug house with Fagnan and his daughter.<\/p>\n<p>The lawyer alleged Fagnan set up his son to protect Houle and Savannah Fagnan \u201cbecause they lived the exact same gang lifestyle as dad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mariash accused Hall \u2014 who testified she saw Felix open fire on the victims \u2014 of being one of two shooters (the other still unidentified) responsible for the killings.<\/p>\n<p>The lawyer argued Hall\u2019s testimony didn\u2019t align with the forensic evidence, which showed four of the five victims were shot in the head at a downward angle, suggesting they were on their knees at the time.<\/p>\n<p>The aggressive cross-examination of Hall resulted in Mariash later apologizing to both the witness and the jury. He urged jurors to not let their feelings about his behaviour cloud their judgment of Felix.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not here to be liked or loved, I\u2019m here to do a difficult job,\u201d he said. \u201cI know I can be too much for some people. I chose the strategy I used in this case, not (Felix).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know this is a big ask of you \u2014 I\u2019m asking you to free a man accused of an atrocity \u2014 but the evidence concluded that the real murderers may still be out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor Chantal Boutin said the killings were the culmination of a series of conscious choices by Felix, starting with him accepting a gun and bulletproof vest at the crack house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChoices that he now wants you to forget he made, choices that he wants you to doubt,\u201d Boutin said.<\/p>\n<p>Boutin said Hall \u2014 who testified Fagnan and his daughter beat and threatened her after the shooting \u2014 had no reason to lie about what she saw.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKyle, Savannah and Jamie are all Chummy\u2019s kids \u2014 why pin it on one over another if another is the real shooter?\u201d Boutin said. \u201cAnd if it were (Chummy) that was the real shooter, why not blame it on him? He\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mary Felix, Felix\u2019s mother, testified she reached out to her son over social media following the killings. In one message alleged to have been sent by Jamie Felix, he told his mother he was \u201cgonna be going out to the fullest\u2026 Just have fun till they come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Boutin said his comments were an acknowledgment of guilt.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/newslettericon_biidaajimowin.jpg\" alt=\"Sign up for Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knew what he did and he wasn\u2019t going to be free for long because he killed people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Mary Felix provided a statement to police days later saying she believed her son was responsible for the shootings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou watched her struggle to testify against her son,\u201d Boutin said. \u201cYou heard how difficult it was for her to go to police and why she did it. Because she wanted Jamie off the street. She was scared people would get hurt and Jamie would get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jurors are expected to begin deliberations on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/240604-Dean-Pritchard-bio1.jpg\" class=\"author-portrait\" alt=\"Dean Pritchard\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dean Pritchard<br \/>Courts reporter<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/breakingnews\/2026\/03\/02\/mailto:dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca\" class=\"social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/breakingnews\/2026\/03\/02\/tel:204-981-4625\" class=\"social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/biographies\/dean-pritchard\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read more about Dean<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/about-us\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/free-press-101\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"block-non-subscriber\">Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/subscribe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"block-subscriber\">Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man on trial for murdering five people at a Langside Street crack house was a \u201cpatsy\u201d for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-511270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}