Lawyer seeks earlier parole eligibility for man convicted in rooming house killings

Sentencing for man who killed 5 in rooming house
Sentencing for man who killed 5 in rooming house
Police vehicles are shown outside the scene of a shooting at a home in Winnipeg on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
Writer

The lawyer for a Winnipeg man who fatally shot five people in a rooming house is asking a judge to determine that the man serve 10 years before he can apply for parole.

Theodore Mariash told a sentencing hearing that since Jamie Felix was arrested in 2023, he has been working toward atonement and addressing his substance use issues that precipitated the slayings.

A jury convicted Felix in March on five counts of second-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence and no parole for at least 10 years.

Mariash says the death of Felix's twin brother left him with mental health and addictions issues that some of his family members took advantage of.

Court heard his father and brother were associated with a gang that operated the drug den where the shootings occurred, but that Felix had no gang ties himself.

The Crown said earlier this week that Felix should receive the maximum ineligibility period of 25 years because of public safety.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2026.

By Brittany Hobson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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