Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 11, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 MANITOBA winnipegfreepress. com * Not all merchandise on sale. Alterations extra on sale shirts and merchandise reduced by 50% or greater. Offer ends February 16 th . Last chance! Further markdowns have been taken online and throughout our stores. Shop now for best selection and savings. 40- 60% * OFF ALL SALE MERCHANDISE Harry's Final Markdowns ( Sale Ends Sunday.) P O L O P A R K S H O P P I N G C E N T R E 2 0 4 . 7 8 6 . 2 3 6 8 Shop in- store or online. W HILE the family of Cliff Malnyk mourns the death of the Bloodvein First Nation man, they're thankful the victim's daughter survived an attack by his alleged killers. Malnyk's body was found inside a burned- out home around 2: 30 a. m. Saturday in the community on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. RCMP say the death is being investigated as a homicide. On Monday, an RCMP spokesman couldn't say whether any arrests had been made. Family members have confirmed the victim was Malnyk, 52, who is survived by four children and seven grandchildren. His daughter, Melanie Bushie, 22, told the Free Press she drove to her dad's home well after midnight and was shocked to see his prized 2011 Ford pickup stuck in a snowbank across the street. The home's outside lights weren't on, either. " He always kept his lights on," said Bushie. " I knew there was something going on." Bushie said she pulled into the driveway, parked her vehicle so the headlights illuminated the front of the house, went to the front door and started knocking. " I was banging on the door, screaming for my dad to answer," she said. The door flew open, but it wasn't her father answering, and she could see thick black smoke inside the house. " Two boys ran out, the last one holding a sword," said Bushie. " He started swinging it at me, maybe five or six times. The other guy was yelling, ' Kill her, kill her.' " I ran to my truck and jumped in. The guy was chasing me. I locked the doors but he broke the windows. I drove off, straight to the RCMP. I was honking my horn and screaming, ' Go see my dad.' " Bushie suffered a deep gash in her head and bruised, bloodied hands from blocking the blows from her attackers. While she was being treated at the local nursing station, her brother- in- law, Jacob Crate, came with news her father was found dead inside the home. Once the fire was put out, he went inside with a flashlight and found Malnyk's body. Crate said he and the rest of the family are relieved Bushie didn't suffer the same fate. " We're just so glad she's alive," he said. " We're glad she got away and got to the RCMP. She was getting hit by a sword. They must have missed her a couple of times or it was a dull blade." Bushie said she's devastated by the loss of her father and tormented by the violent assault she had to endure. " I can't stop thinking about it, playing it over in my mind," she said. " Getting hit over the head, blood waterfalling over my face. But I didn't feel any pain. I was just so worried about my dad." Originally from Winnipeg, Malnyk lived in Bloodvein for 26 years after meeting and marrying Bushie's mother. The couple split, but he stayed in the community to be near his daughters and held several jobs, including band constable before an RCMP detachment was set up. He also drove the sewage truck and was the community fire chief for a time. Bushie said her father was a very popular person in the community. " He was always happy, always helping people," she said. " Everybody loved him. He laughed a lot and loved being teased. He loved his family... he could make my little four- month- old daughter smile every time." jason. bell@ freepress. mb. ca ' Two boys ran out, the last one holding a sword. He started swinging it at me, maybe five or six times. The other guy was yelling, " Kill her, kill her" ' - Melanie Bushie, 22 Dad dead, daughter wounded Woman details sword attack at reserve home By Jason Bell SUPPLIED PHOTO Cliff Malnyk was found dead early Saturday inside his burned- out house on Bloodvein First Nation. A man accused of setting a blaze that killed two people at a Winnipeg bathhouse told a friend just before visiting it they should set the place on fire, prosecutors said Monday. A jury trial for Justin Rosdobutko, 29, got underway in the Court of Queen's Bench. He's accused of two counts of manslaughter in the fire- related deaths of Steven Yablonski, 23, and Robert Gene Clark, 62, at the Aquarius Men's Bathhouse on Notre Dame Avenue on Oct. 11, 2009. Rosdobutko has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent. He's accused of setting two separate fires in the building early that morning. The Crown intends to call five witnesses in the case, Crown attorney Deann Sahulka told jurors in her opening statement. " You have heard me say this matter will be brief. That is not to say it will be simple. The evidence will be detailed," she said. In addition to police officers and an expert from the fire commissioner's office, a friend of Rosdobutko's may testify they were at the bathhouse together that morning, jurors were told. Just prior to the fire, Rosdobutko told his friend " that they should burn the bathhouse down," Sahulka said. The fire was not set in the presence of the witness, she said. DNA testing police did on a cigarette butt found in Room 27 contained a " mixed profile" of two people, jurors were told. Rosdobutko's DNA was not in the profile, but his friend's was. Yablonski, a popular local entertainer, and Clark, who was from Saskatchewan, died of smoke inhalation. Up to 40 others escaped the massive blaze. The fire caused about $ 500,000 damage to the property at 457 Notre Dame Ave. The bathhouse owner, Somchai Pengpharsuks, lost another business to arson in 1999, the King and Alexander Steam Baths. james. turner@ freepress. mb. ca Accused said bathhouse should burn, his trial told By James Turner A_ 06_ Feb- 11- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A4 2/ 10/ 14 7: 43: 33 PM ;