The Black Rod

The body count continues to rise --- and the mainstream press begins to suspect something. A month and a half ago The Black Rod exposed the links between seven Winnipeg homicide victims and street gangs inspired by gangster rap, and modelled on the granddaddys of street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. Today, the death toll has grown to eight definite, with #9 pencilled in. Nathan Starr, 14, joined the death list Tuesday when he died in a firebombing of a house on Mountain Avenue. He was a member of the M.O.B. street gang. Two suspects arrested for the firebombing are members of the Indian Posse. The genteel Winnipeg Free Press reporter Gabrielle Giroday reported Wednesday the initials M.O.B. stood for Most Organized Brothers. Her colleague Bruce Owen offered an alternate name Thursday -- 'Money Over B____', a mystery name designed to spare the sensibilities of Free Press readers. Let's quit playing games. Starr was a member of Money Over Bitches, or Money Ovah Bitches in ...

It's becoming another of those defining stories of Winnipeg. A young girl leaves home and disappears. She's either never seen again or her body is eventually discovered in the river or in some secluded location. Pleas for help to nail down her last movements go unanswered. She's usually aboriginal. This week it's the story of 17-year-old Tiffany Skye. RCMP say she was last known to be alive on Monday, August 8, 2011. Five days later, Saturday, Aug. 13, her body was recovered from the Red River near Lockport. Police quickly determined who she was but an autopsy Aug. 16 failed to disclose a cause of death. Read that again. She didn't drown. Which means they don't know how she died and how she wound up in the river. Police then began adding some of the mystery to her disappearance. They waited at least 10 days after she was found to release her identity to the press. They didn't give out her name until five days after...