Nearly two months after her death, family of April Woodhouse still seeks answers

Silas Woodhouse Jr. has been distributing flash drives of his late sister, April Woodhouse, singing. He’s raising money for a funeral their family hasn’t been able to have. Before they lay her to rest, they’re calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. But after nearly two months, they say they haven’t been getting answers. “We need this closure, as the Woodhouse family, for my sister,” Silas Jr. said. Woodhouse died on Feb. 1 at age 50 after she was found freezing outside a residence near her home in the Pinaymootang First Nation in northern Manitoba. Gypsumville RCMP and Major Crime Services are still investigating her death – but not as a homicide. However, the Woodhouse family believes her death is suspicious. ‘There’s an emergency’ On Jan. 31, the Woodhouse family was in Pinaymootang for a relative’s wake service. While conducting the service, April Woodhouse’s eldest sister, Rose Stagg, said a woman approached her in a panic. “She told me, ‘You have to come quick, there’s an emergency, your sister has been found frozen outside the house’,” Stagg said. When Stagg arrived at the scene, her sister April was wrapped in blankets, and surrounded by space heaters and family members trying to keep her warm. Stagg was told a group, including a Pinaymootang safety officer, had found her sister outside a residence, kicked down the door and brought her inside. A relative performed CPR before paramedics arrived, followed by four RCMP officers. While standing outside, Stagg said she noticed vehicle tracks leading up to the steps of the house where Woodhouse was found, but says the RCMP did not cordon off the area. Woodhouse was transported by ambulance to the nearby Lakeshore Hospital in Ashern, Man. where she was pronounced deceased. At the hospital, Stagg decided to sit at her sister’s bedside and hold her hand. That’s when she noticed bruises, cuts and a severed pinky finger. “Something told me in my heart to hold her hand. I grabbed her hand from under the blanket, and I held it,” Stagg said. “I noticed she had cuts and bruises, big bruises on her hands. Her little pinky, part of it was missing.” Stagg called other family members into the room, who discovered bruising on her arms and legs. They took photos of her injuries, which they shared with APTN News. In a Feb. 11 news release, RCMP said an autopsy confirmed the cause of death was not due to physical injuries or exposure. But the family believes there’s more to the story. “That’s one thing my sister would never ever do is to go to someone’s place and just fall asleep there,” Stagg said. “She lived close. She would’ve walked all the way home to go and sleep.” ‘She loved everyone’  Woodhouse was a mother of four and grandmother of 10. “My mom had a beautiful, beautiful life. She was loved by me and my brother, my sisters, my nephews,” said her youngest son, Silas McGee. “I just had a baby recently, last year, and that’s all she would talk about.” Growing up, she followed in the footsteps of her father, Silas Woodhouse Sr., an accomplished gospel singer. “My dad trained her to sing. But it came naturally because my dad was a natural singer,” her brother Woodhouse Jr. said. “As soon as she started to sing and perfect those songs, my dad took her everywhere.” As her eldest sister, Stagg helped take care of her from a young age. “When she was just a little girl, I babysat her, I was with her all the time. I sang with her,” Stagg said. “She loved everyone. She would say I love you to everyone, and I know that she did.” Death still under investigation In an email to APTN, RCMP media relations officer Sgt. Paul Manaigre confirmed that Woodhouse’s death is still under investigation by Gypsumville RCMP and Major Crime Services. Manaigre said the site of Woodhouse’s death was not designated as a crime scene, and, based on autopsy results, was not determined to be a homicide. “(A)s she was located right outside the side door of the residence, those that assisted her, including EMS, had completely walked over the scene. It was examined afterwards but not designated as a crime scene,” Manaigre said in the email Thursday. Dr. John Younes, Manitoba’s Chief Medical Examiner, shared further details about Woodhouse’s autopsy. “The autopsy revealed some findings of underlying natural disease which are associated with an increased risk of sudden death,” he said in an email to APTN. “A number of minor blunt force injuries were identified, but no internal injuries of any kind were present. Nor was there evidence of asphyxia. Death due to violence or strangulation has therefore been ruled out in this case.” Younes stated that DNA analysis had not been conducted. He said the cause of death is pending toxicology results, which could take an additional four to six weeks to arrive. Based on the initial police investigation and autopsy, Younes stated “there was no indication that Ms. Woodhouse’s death was suspicious in nature”. ‘We want her to rest in peace’ However, the Woodhouse family believes otherwise. They’re calling for a second autopsy and DNA analysis. “We need to get this DNA testing done. This second autopsy,” Woodhouse Jr. said. “We’re gonna do everything we can to get it done. We’re not gonna stop.” “We need this done for her,” added Stagg. “We want her to rest in peace. We want to lay our sister to rest.” Continue Reading