Dene community helps RCMP make arrest in 2021 double homicide

The bodies of friends Brent Denechezhe, 31, and Leona Tssessaze, 24, were found after a fire in a home in Northlands Denesuline First Nation on Sept. 9, 2021.

Leon Paul Mercredi, 22, was arrested in Fond du Lac, Sask., on Monday and has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Mounties said at a news conference Thursday that Mercredi is originally from Northlands Denesuline, a fly-in community northwest of Thompson also known as Lac Brochet.

Leona Tssessaze and Brent Denechezhe (Supplied)

Mounties said Mercredi fled the community after the killings and was staying with people he knew in Fond du Lac. He has no convictions in Manitoba, court records show.

Mercredi appeared in court in Thompson on the homicide charges Wednesday. His next court date has not been set.

RCMP have determined the suspect and victims were at Denechezhe's home on the night of Sept. 9 when there was a "disagreement."

The suspect left and later returned with a gun, RCMP said. Investigators believe the suspect fatally shot the two victims, left again and returned moments later, before the house was engulfed in flames.

The years-long investigation accelerated after RCMP and city police sought out tips related to the two deaths a month ago, with investigators working within the community and even putting up posters in Dene, the language spoken by many, encouraging anyone with information to come forward.

RCMP used an interpreter living in the community to share information about the crime.

"What I can say is, in this community, it worked really well. But that goes out to the leadership of the community and the people within the community," said Supt. Rob Lawson, the officer in charge of major crime services in Manitoba.

The community involvement is what eventually led to the arrest, said Lawson.

"We didn't have the answers initially, and we had to rely on time."

Northlands Denesuline Chief Simon Denechezhe, Brent Denechezhe's uncle, said the killings and the wait for answers has affected every member of the community.

"Not knowing caused fear and anxiety among our people," he said. "We're a very small community, isolated."

Mercredi's family still lives in the community, he said, and they, too, are mourning.

"They're part of the community," he said. "We can not live in anger, we must move forward."

Statements from the mothers of both victims were read aloud at the news conference.

Denechezhe was remembered as a father to two young daughters who loved sports and his mother's cooking.

"Learning what happened that night has provided some answers. But it does not change the fact that Brent is gone. I don't know what to feel about all this right now," Denechezhe's mother, Veronique Denechezhe, said, adding she feels for the family of the man arrested.

"I know he has a family. I think everyone has lost here."

Ellen Tssessaze remembered her daughter Leona as a nature lover who was close with her family. She said she has thought about the killings every morning for nearly three years. Some answers came Tuesday.

"My heart was broken all over again. It hurts so much," Tssessaze said, adding she's grateful RCMP told her but, in a way, wishes she didn't know.

"I thought she had died in a fire. To know she died the way she did takes my breath away."

Mounties are not searching for other suspects but continue to seek information in the case. RCMP ask anyone with tips to call 431-489-8112.

— with files from Adam Treusch, Erik Pindera

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca