Manitoba man accused of five murders fires legal team for second time

Ryan Manoakeesick, a 32-year-old Manitoba man accused of murdering five family members, has fired his legal team for the second time this year. He cited a breakdown in his relationship with his previous lawyers as the reason for seeking new counsel.

Manoakeesick faces five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the February 2024 deaths of his common-law partner, Amanda Clearwater, 30, their three children—Bethany, 6; Jayven, 4; and Isabella, two months—and Clearwater’s 17-year-old niece, Myah Gratton. The victims' bodies were discovered at multiple crime scenes in and around the town of Carman.

During a recent hearing in the Court of King's Bench, Justice Candace Grammond warned Manoakeesick that his trial dates are “effectively written in stone.” A judge-alone trial is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2027, and the court emphasized that he must be prepared to proceed on that date regardless of his legal representation status.