Fifty-nine-year-old Diane Gloria Paul was no ordinary resident of Dauphin, a close-knit city of approximately 8,500 people located in western Manitoba, Canada. As the wife of then-Mayor Alex Paul, Diane was a well-known and respected figure. She co-owned Thunder’s Country Restaurant and Saloon, a popular local establishment that served as a gathering place for residents. Described by her son, Robbie Tomkins, a city councilor, as the “glue that held her family together,” Diane was a vibrant presence whose warmth and dedication touched many lives. Her death sent shockwaves through the community, where she and her husband were prominent figures due to Alex’s role as mayor and his prior career as a schoolteacher.
On the evening of March 13th, 2007, at approximately eleven fifteen p.m., the Dauphin RCMP received a call from Alex Paul reporting that he had discovered his wife deceased in their home, located just south of Dauphin in the Rural Municipality of Dauphin. When police arrived, they found Diane in her bedroom, having suffered fatal gunshot wounds. Despite extensive searches by the RCMP, the weapon used in the crime has never been recovered, adding to the mystery surrounding the case.
The RCMP Major Crimes Unit quickly took over the investigation. Early reports from March 16th, 2007, noted that police were investigating the death as suspicious following the autopsy results. By March 19th, the RCMP publicly confirmed it as a homicide, but they withheld specific details about the cause of death and evidence found at the scene to protect the investigation’s integrity. Staff Sgt. Steve Saunders, speaking to CBC News at the time, emphasized the need to keep certain details confidential to ensure the reliability of witness interviews and evidence collection.
In the days following the murder, an unidentified man was taken into custody on March 18th, 2007, in connection with the case. However, he was released unconditionally the next day, and no charges were laid. While some sources indicate that Alex Paul himself was briefly considered a suspect and questioned by police, he was also released without charge. The RCMP has consistently declined to provide specific information about individuals involved in the investigation, citing the need to preserve its integrity. To this day, no arrests have been made, and it is classified as a cold case, though still an active investigation.
The absence of the murder weapon and the lack of public information about suspects or motives have fueled speculation in Dauphin, but no concrete leads have emerged publicly. Alex Paul’s passing on July 21st, 2020, at the age of seventy-eight, further diminished hopes that any additional information he might have had could shed light on the mysterious case.
Crime Immemorial 