The Death of Tina Fontaine

Tina Fontaine was born in 1999 and was raised for much of her childhood by her great-aunt, Thelma Favel, in Sagkeeng First Nation. Her father's murder in 2011 had a profound effect on her. By the summer of 2014, Tina was in Winnipeg and had contact with several public systems, including child welfare, police and health services. An independent Manitoba Advocate review later documented repeated missed opportunities to provide stable, coordinated protection and support.

Missing in Winnipeg

Tina was reported missing in August 2014. On August 17, police recovered her body from the Red River. The circumstances in which she was found led investigators to treat the death as suspicious, but medical evidence could not establish a definitive cause of death.

That evidentiary limit matters. This file does not manufacture a cause or method of death. It records the homicide investigation and later prosecution while preserving the medical uncertainty presented to the jury.

Raymond Cormier becomes the accused

Police investigated Raymond Cormier, an adult man Tina had met in Winnipeg. He consistently denied killing her. Investigators ultimately conducted a lengthy undercover operation and recorded thousands of conversations. Prosecutors relied heavily on statements captured during that operation because there was no DNA evidence linking Cormier to Tina's body.

Cormier was charged with second-degree murder in December 2015. His charge was an allegation, not a finding of guilt, and the distinction became decisive at trial.

The 2018 trial and acquittal

The jury trial lasted approximately three weeks in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench. The Crown presented a circumstantial case, including covert recordings it argued were incriminating. The defence emphasized the lack of forensic evidence connecting Cormier to Tina's death, uncertainty over the medical cause of death and Cormier's repeated denials.

On February 22, 2018, the jury found Raymond Cormier not guilty of second-degree murder. An acquittal means he cannot be presented as Tina's killer in this archive. Crime by Region does not substitute police suspicion, public reaction or later commentary for the jury's verdict.

No Crown appeal

On March 13, 2018, Manitoba Justice announced that prosecutors would not appeal Cormier's acquittal. The prosecution service said its review found no legal ground on which a successful Crown appeal could be based.

That decision ended the prosecution against Cormier. He died in Ontario in 2024. His death does not alter the acquittal and is not treated as evidence of responsibility.

The investigation remains unresolved

Reporting in April 2024, after Cormier's death, stated that Tina's case remained open. No other person had been publicly convicted of causing her death. The current classification is therefore Unsolved / Partial: a major criminal investigation and trial took place, but no person stands convicted for Tina's death.

The Manitoba Advocate review

The criminal case is only part of Tina's documented story. In March 2019, the independent Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth published A Place Where it Feels Like Home: The Story of Tina Fontaine. The review examined records from public systems and Tina's family experience. It found serious gaps in education, mental-health and addictions support, victim services, child and family services and responses to youth at risk of sexual exploitation.

The report made five major recommendations, including stronger supports for missing and sexually exploited youth and improved coordination between systems. Those findings are not evidence about who caused Tina's death; they are a separate institutional record about the protections available to her before she died.

Timeline

1. 2011
   Tina's father is killed

   The later Manitoba Advocate review identifies this loss as a major turning point in Tina's life.

2. Summer 2014
   Tina is in Winnipeg

   She has repeated contact with public systems while experiencing instability and exploitation.

3. August 9, 2014
   Tina is reported missing

   Her whereabouts become the subject of a missing-person response.

4. August 17, 2014
   Tina is found in the Red River

   Police begin a major investigation into her suspicious death.

5. December 2015
   Raymond Cormier is charged

   After an extensive investigation, Cormier is accused of second-degree murder.

6. February 22, 2018
   Jury acquits Cormier

   He is found not guilty of second-degree murder.

7. March 13, 2018
   Crown declines appeal

   Manitoba prosecutors say they found no viable legal ground for an appeal.

8. March 12, 2019
   Independent advocate report released

   The Manitoba Advocate publishes a systemic review and recommendations centered on Tina's life and public services.

9. April 2024
   Cormier dies; case still described as open

   Ontario police confirm Cormier's death was non-criminal; contemporary Manitoba reporting says Tina's case remains unresolved.