The first of two sentences has been handed out for the torture and murder of a man from Steinbach.

A man convicted of the torture and killing of Gerhard Reimer-Wiebe has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years. Kyle Evan Sinkovits had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder.

The court heard that Reimer-Wiebe was tortured for three days and killed in June of 2020. His body was then take to Portage La Prairie, where it was burned and buried on the edge of a field.

Jonathan Narvey has also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case and is to be sentenced next week.

The sentencing happens just over two years after the death of Wiebe. It was on June 24, 2020, when Portage RCMP responded to the report of human remains that were found near Baker Avenue within the city. The identity of the remains was unknown at the time and Portage RCMP along with Major Crime Services, Forensic Identification Services and the Chief Medical Examiner's Office continued to investigate.

On July 10th, Portage RCMP put out a public request for assistance in identifying the human remains. By then, police had ruled the death as being the result of a homicide. An autopsy was conducted and police said the victim was a male, between the age of 20 and 40, with brown hair - possibly medium length. Investigators believed the victim had scoliosis of the spine, and would have been somewhere between 5'7" and 6'2" in height. Police stated that they believed the victim's body was placed near Baker Street in Portage la Prairie on June 20th, sometime between 3-5 am.

On July 15th, another plea for information as to the identity of the victim was made. As a direct result of this second plea, information was received that enabled investigators to confirm the identity of the victim.

On July 20, 2020, RCMP indicated the victim had been identified as Gerhard Reimer-Wiebe. The 27-year-old, who also went by the name George, was from Steinbach but had been living in Winnipeg. He was known to frequent homeless shelters within Winnipeg.