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On June 20th, 2010 – Father's Day – a house exploded in northeast Edmonton.

Jeanne Cathleen Heard, 47, Craig Donald Huber, 29, and Bradley Warren Winter, 26, died as a result.

Heard's body was found inside the home that exploded and her cause of death remains unknown.

Huber and Winter happened to be in the house next to the home that blew up and died of blast-related injuries.

Heard, Huber, Winter were Edmonton's eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth homicide victims of the year.

The body of Dwayne Richard Poirier, 46, co-owner of the demolished house, was also found inside the rubble.

The day after an explosion in northeast Edmonton, Acting Police Chief Darryl da Costa made a remarkable statement.

"Houses don't just blow up," he said.

The comment was made in the wake of four deaths and the near-levelling of a neighbourhood. And it was a foreshadow of an explanation that a criminal act was behind a house explosion that left dozens homeless.

CBC Edmonton was first to report that one of the four people killed in the blast – a woman – was found bound and wrapped.

Three men – including the owner of the house destroyed and two others who happened to be next door – also died when the bungalow blew apart.

The event unfolded on Sunday, June 20th, at about 1:20 in the afternoon.

Residents next door to the house at 18011 91 A Street thought they had smelled the odor of natural gas just moments before.

Some said they heard several soft explosions ... and then a large one that shook buildings blocks away.

The house at 18011 had disappeared.

Debris from the home was found over a kilometre away.

As emergency crews arrived, the death toll began to mount. Within 24 hours, four bodies were recovered. Remarkably, only just a few other area residents suffered minor injuries.

Nearly a dozen homes sustained major damage – some enough to warrant demolition. Two dozen other homes were also affected.

Police immediately quelled early rumours that a meth lab was behind the explosion. A bomb was also ruled out.

It was initially said the house and its occupants weren't known to authorities (other than for non-payment of two years' worth of taxes). Court documents would later reveal a different story.

Police considered the deaths suspicious and put homicide detectives in charge of the investigation – standard practice when causes of death aren't immediately apparent.

The area was sealed off for three days as forensics staff pored over the wreckage. Family members had identified the three deceased men to media. The fourth person, thought to be the female co-owner of the house, was still unaccounted for. Police remained tight-lipped.

Autopsies conducted Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning on the four bodies proved inconclusive. Toxicology tests were expected to take weeks. Fire officials weren't even speculating as to the cause of the blast, simply dubbing the area "ground zero."

Then, late on Wednesday evening, CBC Edmonton broke the news that a female body found at the blast scene had been "bound and wrapped." The public broadcaster cited multiple sources when filing the report.

In at least one later newscast, CBC said the body was bound at the hands and feet and was rolled inside a carpet.

Friends of Jeanne Cathleen Heard confirmed that she lived at the Lago Lindo house and that they have not been able to contact her since the time of the explosion.

CBC's story was corroborated by the Edmonton Sun who reported sources told them that one or more of the blast victims may have been bound.

Apart from confirmed-by-family victims Brad Winter and Craig Huber – killed in the house next door – the only other person identified in the incident was 46-year-old Dwayne Poirier (below), the other co-owner of the house.

"Any of the rumours floating around are just speculation," a police spokesman said, responding to the restraint stories.

So far, none of the four victims had been officially identified.

"The autopsies are completed, but they are only one part of the investigation," Insp. Darren Eastcott said.

"There are a number of other investigative tasks that are required, and so we are not in a position to release any information on the investigation.

"The event itself was suspicious. Not every house blows up like that, so we have to look at all the circumstances surrounding it."

CTV Edmonton added to the speculation surrounding the matter when they reported sources had told them the house explosion was now being investigated as a homicide case.

On Thursday, June 24th, police announced that Jeanne Cathleen Heard, 47, lived in the house at 18011 91 A Street and that her death was considered to be a homicide.

Dwayne Richard Poirier, 46, also lived at the house and his death was ruled non-criminal.

Cause of death for both Heard and Poirier was subject to further testing by the medical examiner. Police held back from terming Poirier's death a mis-adventure or a suicide.

Craig Donald Huber, 29, and Bradley Warren Winter, 26, who resided in the neighbouring house at 18013 91 A Street, died from blast-related injuries.

The deaths of Huber and Winter were also determined to be homicides.

"We recognize this incident has affected many people who are looking for answers," Homicide Section Staff Sgt. Lorne Pubantz said in a statement to media.

"These investigations take time and to maintain the integrity of the investigation, we will not be releasing partial information.

"For that reason we will not be speaking on the condition of the bodies, circumstances surrounding the deaths or releasing further details, as there are a number of other complex investigative tasks that need to be completed."

The cause of the explosion, which police said originated in the home at 18011 91 A Street, remains under investigation.

All the information presented on this page has been compiled primarily from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site.
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deadmonton 2010 - the lago lindo house explosion