By Canadian Press

Health region cautions staff that motive unclear in hospital attack, homicides

Oct 29, 2021 | 5:43 PM

WINNIPEG — The president of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is cautioning workers that a motive remains unclear for a stabbing at a hospital, which police believe is linked to two killings.

Police have said a woman in her 60s, who is an employee at Seven Oaks General Hospital, was attacked there on Wednesday. Family members, who declined to comment, identified her as Candyce Szkwarek.

The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba said a man police arrested is 37-year-old Trevor Farley, who is a registered member. Court records show he also worked at Seven Oaks.

Police said the man in custody is also a suspect in two homicides.

Mike Nader, the health region president, said it’s natural to look for a reason for the attack, but he has not been told of any motive.

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“I am unsure how anyone could at this point know what those motives were,” Nader said Friday in an email to employees, which was obtained by The Canadian Press.

He said the woman who was injured was in critical care. He thanked all employees at the hospital who responded quickly to help her.

Police have said the suspect was being medically assessed and no charges had been laid as of Friday. Police also declined to speculate on a motive, saying the investigation remains in its early stages.

Mounties said they first found a 73-year-old woman dead in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, south of Winnipeg, and had information that a suspect was headed to the city. 

Police then responded to the assault at the hospital.

Hours later, officers went to a home in the city’s West End neighbourhood and found the body of a man in his 70s. Police have said the suspect was known to all three victims.

Brent Young, who lives near the West End home, said it was Farley’s father, Stuart Farley, who was found dead there.

Stuart Farley had lived in the Toronto Street house for more than five years, Young said, adding the man was quiet but always friendly.

Young said his neighbour introduced him to his son, Trevor Farley, who had been stopping by over the past year.

Friends said in messages on social media that Stuart Farley was originally from England and was retired. They described him as a great conversationalist who would be missed.

The woman killed in the rural home was identified as Judy Swain. Kristie Beynon, the executive director of Direct Farm Manitoba, called her death a tragedy. 

Swain had been on the co-operative’s board since 2019 and was a member long before. 

“She was just a super caring, real down-to-earth person,” Beynon said. 

Swain ran Tri-Pop Farm on her property. She was known for her chickens, which she sold at local farmers markets. Her website said she also raised pigs and turkeys.

“The possibilities feel endless, limited only by the number of hours in the day and the number of hands on deck. I have high hopes for a bountiful, beautiful farm,” Swain wrote on the website.

Luc Lahaie, the rural municipality’s chief administrative officer, said Swain’s death is shocking. 

“These things don’t usually happen in our municipality,” Lahaie said.

Court records show Trevor Farley had no prior arrests or convictions. He filed for bankruptcy last year and documents show his debts totalled nearly $140,000.

The documents also say Farley was married in 2015 and, as of last year, also lived with three children. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2021. 

Kelly Geraldine Malone and Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press