Skip to content

Estevan police confirm city's first homicide since 2021; investigation continues

The Estevan Police Service has provided an update on the incidents that occurred in the city on Wednesday morning.
estevan-police-incident
Police were called to an incident in the 1200-block of Sixth Street on Wednesday.

ESTEVAN - The Estevan Police Service is treating one of the deaths that occurred in Estevan on Wednesday as a homicide. 

The EPS released more information early Thursday afternoon on the two serious incidents that happened Wednesday. According to the EPS, on the morning of Nov. 1, at approximately 6:38 a.m., as a result of a call for a medical emergency, members of the EPS were dispatched to an apartment in the 1200-block of Sixth Street. The information that police received was that a woman was injured and bleeding.

Officers attended and located the woman suffering from serious upper body injuries. She was located in the residence and transported by Estevan EMS to St. Joseph's Hospital where she succumbed died at 9:28 a.m. The EPS said the cause of death was deemed a homicide.

The victim was identified as Karie Ann Guillas, age 46, of Estevan. 

Officers arrested an adult male at the scene and he was transported to the police station. 

"The investigation is ongoing," the EPS said in a news release. 

There are no outstanding suspects in relation to the homicide at this time and no risk to the public, the EPS said. 

During the course of the homicide investigation, an altercation took place at the police station between the suspect and an EPS officer, resulting in serious injuries to both the officer and the suspect. Both the officer and the suspect were transported to St. Joseph's Hospital and then Regina for treatment.

The officer’s condition has been updated to stable.

Police Chief Rich Lowen thanked the community for all of the support that the EPS has received since the incident occurred. 

"It's greatly appreciated by all of the members of the service," Lowen said. 

There was no further information provided by the EPS on the incident, but according to social media posts, the suspect, Justice Guillas, has also died. He was the son of Karie Ann Guillas. 

As of Thursday morning, the EPS continued to have a police vehicle in front of the building where the initial incident occurred, and yellow police tape was still visible. The police vehicle and yellow tape were gone by Thursday afternoon. 

As the incident is an officer-involved shooting, Saskatchewan's Serious Incident Response Team has assumed control of the investigation at the station and any further requests for information will be directed to SIRT.

This is the first incident to be classified as a homicide in Estevan since June 2021. That particular incident remains before the courts. 

SASKTODAY.ca will have more details as they become available.