Police confirm Tanya Wiebe was killed by partner who then took his own life

Ontario Provincial Police have confirmed a murder-suicide unfolded in a home in Central Elgin in late January, leading to the deaths of two southwestern Ontario people.

Tanya Wiebe, 38, was the victim of a homicide, shot by 34-year-old Kyle Savage, police said Wednesday. 

Wiebe and Savage were both found dead in Savage's home near Sparta on Jan. 31.

The official confirmation or the cause of death for the two, who were known to have been in a relationship, comes more than three months after the police began investigating their deaths.

Post-mortem examinations found gunshot wounds were the cause of death for both people, police said.

In the days following Wiebe's death, an outpouring of support came out for the mother, specifically from southwestern Ontario's hockey community. At one tournament at London Sports Park, players wore special jerseys decorated with her initials.

She was an active hockey mom who was described by those who knew her as full of joy, and always willing to help. Wiebe had a 15-year-old son who played for the AAA Chatham-Kent cyclones.

The move by the OPP to publicly state the deaths were a murder-suicide contrast the situation surrounding the death of a woman and her boyfriend in a London apartment building late last year. Tiffany Gates's mother Linda Davidson has been critical of London police's refusal to call her death a murder-suicide. 

An advocate who spoke with CBC News following Wiebe's death said waiting for police to confirm what loved ones said they already knew to be true, was a serious burden on the family.