Winnipeg teen charged in Gimli homicide

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a man in Gimli, Man., over the weekend.

RCMP have remained tight-lipped on the circumstances surrounding the death of the man they identified Wednesday as Martyn James Hendy, saying only that he was "involved in an altercation with a group of individuals" in the town of Gimli.

An autopsy took place Tuesday in Winnipeg. Mounties refused to reveal the cause of death, but witnesses reported seeing a bloody, beaten man lying in the street near Centre Street and Third Avenue about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Hendy had recently moved to Winnipeg from Prince Rupert, B.C., investigators said.

The 17-year-old charged, a Winnipeg boy who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is in custody in Winnipeg.

Gimli was host to the Islendingadagurinn, its 119th annual Icelandic festival, over the weekend. The festival draws thousands of visitors, adding to the hundreds of seasonal residents who spend summers in the community of 1,500, located 85 kilometres north of the province's capital on Lake Winnipeg.