Maw Maw

In 2008, Maw Maw and her husband, Gray Nay Htoo, left a refugee camp in Thailand to build a new life in Regina, Saskatchewan. Members of the Karen ethnic group, they had fled conflict in their home country of Burma, now Myanmar, in search of peace and opportunity in Canada. Maw Maw, 28, and Gray Nay, 31, settled into their new community with their young son, Seven June Htoo. Gray Nay found work at Crown Shred and Recycling, and though money was sometimes tight, he diligently saved for his son’s future education. By all accounts, they were a happy family, and relatives said Maw Maw was pregnant with their second child in the summer of 2010.

That dream of a new life was shattered in August 2010. On August 6, a property manager entered the family’s townhouse at 323 Oakview Drive in the Uplands neighborhood after neighbors complained of a foul odor and noted the family hadn't been seen for several days. Inside, the manager made a horrific discovery: the bodies of Maw Maw, Gray Nay, and their three-year-old son, Seven June. The boy had celebrated his birthday with a party just weeks earlier. The deaths were quickly ruled a triple homicide, an incident the city's police chief at the time called the worst case of multiple homicides in Regina's history.

The investigation launched by the Regina Police Service was extensive and complex. In the first year alone, as many as 25 investigators, including an officer fluent in the Karen and Burmese languages, conducted around 250 interviews. The case drew in resources from the RCMP and even the FBI. Police learned that neighbors had seen suspicious people around the family's home and that the couple was known to triple-lock their doors. One neighbor recalled hearing a very loud noise that was not fireworks prior to the discovery, though police stated early on that a firearm was not believed to have been used. Despite the massive effort, no arrests were ever made.

The years that followed were filled with pain and unanswered questions for the family’s relatives and Regina’s tight-knit Karen community. K'nyaw Htoo, Gray Nay’s cousin, remembered him as a good father dedicated to his family's future. "That's why he came here with his family: so they could have a better life and when his kid grows up he can go to University or be whatever he wants to be," he said. The murders left the community feeling scared and suspicious. "When I found out he was dead, I was shocked and at the same time I was so scared and I felt so mad," K'nyaw Htoo recalled. Over time, he said he found it in his heart to forgive. "Whoever did this, I'm not hating anymore," he stated in 2015. "We are all human. Everyone do mistakes."

In 2014, police announced a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. A year later, with no significant breakthroughs, the investigation was officially reassigned to the Regina Police Service's Cold Case unit, where it remains an active and open priority. Investigators have continued to follow up on leads over the years, occasionally going door-to-door in the old neighborhood to speak with residents.

More than a decade after the tragedy, the murders of Maw Maw, Gray Nay Htoo, and little Seven June Htoo remain unsolved. The community continues to hope for a resolution that will bring justice to the family that sought refuge and a better life in Canada, only to have it brutally taken from them. As of December 2023, the Regina Police Service renewed the $50,000 reward for information that leads to the closure of the investigation. The case is assigned to the Cold Case Coordinator, who continues to seek the missing piece of the puzzle. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Regina Police Service at 306-777-6500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.