Sister of Saskatoon homicide victim speaks out
The identity of one of the two homicide victims in Saskatoon May long weekend has been identified as Matthew Brabant.
His sister, Allison Forsberg, shared a statement about how she wants him to be remembered.
'My brother Matthew was more than what the news or police report will ever say. He was 20. He was bright, thoughtful, and had this calm determination that didn't need to prove itself. We didn't grow up together, I have some memories from early childhood alongside these past few months crossing paths again and that mattered,' the statement read.
'It felt like the beginning of something I was starting to understand. And now I'm sitting with the weight of not getting to know him more deeply, even while holding onto what I did see.
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'Matthew's life was taken from him too soon.'
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Brabant was found with gunshot wounds Saturday morning. Saskatoon police say they responded to a motel in the 2000 block of Avenue B North around 5 a.m. and found the 20-year-old injured.
He was taken to hospital where he later died.
Police arrested 29-year-old Tyler Pambrum, who is now facing first-degree murder charges. Pambrun is due in court Friday.
Police are also looking for a second person, identified as 26-year-old Lawrence Opikowew.
He is described as being Indigenous, six-feet-four-inches tall and 190 pounds with short black hair and brown eyes. Opikowew is considered armed and dangerous.
This was the city's third homicide, and just a day later, the fourth happened.
Police responded to reports of a person suffering from stab wounds in the area of Avenue B South and Spadina crescent around 11 pm Sunday.
A 43-year-old man was found and taken to hospital where he later died.
Anyone with information regarding both incidents is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Police say, while it is unfortunate to see two cases so close together, there is no current evidence to suggest a connection between the two.
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