Winnipeg man charged with 2nd-degree murder in woman's death

The death of a woman in an apartment block in Winnipeg's Wolseley neighbourhoodhas been officially declared a homicide.

The body of Lillian Ann Green, 45, was found Tuesday evening inside a suite at the Madison apartment building on Evanson Street. She is the city's 13th homicide victim of 2009.

Winnipegger Athan Kaz Courchaine, 30, has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held in custody.

Police said Green, who was a resident of Poplar River First Nation, about 400 kilometres north of Winnipeg, had been seriously physically assaulted.

Green's brother, Langford Mason, said she was a great storyteller and had a great sense of humor.

"She was a very smart woman. She had her education," he said, adding she was well liked and will be missed. "She touched a lot of lives here [in Poplar River]."

Green's body will be returned to Poplar River on the weekend, he said.

The Madison apartment building has been the scene of trouble before. Police shot and killed a knife-wielding man who attacked other tenants there in March 2007.