Homicide suspected in Balwin-area death

Standing on their balcony in the rain early Wednesday morning, Wade Gunville and his girlfriend, Tammy, watched as police officers worked frantically to save the life of a young man lying in the grass in front of their apartment building. It was their neighbour, shirtless and bleeding, with what appeared to be a stab wound in his stomach.

Tammy prayed as hard as she could that the man would live.

"But there was no way," Gunville said. "There was nothing."

Then they heard one of the police officers say, "He's gone."

The man's body remained in that spot for hours, wrapped in a white tarp in the drizzling rain, as police investigated what appears to be Edmonton's eighth homicide of the year.

City police department spokesman Scott Pattison said the Belvedere-area death is currently considered "suspicious" and an autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday.

Though police have not yet confirmed the man's death as a homicide, signs of violence were evident around the modest four-storey beige and brick apartment building at 12914 64th St. The walkway in front of the building was stained with large droplets of blood, and there were smears of blood on the side of a white van parked on the street.

Drops of blood could also be seen on the floor inside the apartment building, and dripping down the inside of the glass door. A handwritten sign posted on the door with black electrical tape later Wednesday warned people to stay away from the blood.

Police were called to the apartment building for a weapons complaint about 1 a.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, they found the dead man in the parking lot. The man's name and age has not been released.

Residents described the dead man as a Caucasian or lights kinned man in his early 20s. They said the man moved into the building with his girlfriend in the past few months.

"They seemed pretty nice. Quiet," Gunville said.

Gunville said the man's suite had been visited by police who kicked in the door weeks ago, and others in the building said they suspect the man was involved with drugs.

Residents said police told them there were three suspects in custody, but that wasn't confirmed by Pattison.

Standing outside her groundfloor apartment with her twoyear-old son in her arms, Sally Hurst described the area as "not the greatest neighbourhood," and said she and her husband stay inside at night.

From the living room of his house across the street, Don Tourangeau shook his head as he looked at the crime scene.

"Not very nice, somebody getting killed," he said. "Too bad, you know? It's a sad thing to happen."

Neighbour Kalin Schuck said he knew the dead man. The two would often stop to chat in the hallway.

Schuck described him as a "calm, quiet guy" who kept to himself.

"I woke up this morning to find him sitting there with holes in his chest."

jpruden@edmontonjournal. com

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The Swellers - Dirt (With Lyrics)

This is for all my friends and family. Something I need you to understand. The accident, the overdose, the suicide whatever it was. Malpractice, the homicide, etcetera. Something took me sooner than we planned. Now take these steps for me. It might not be what you wanted, but it's what I need. No funeral. There's not a goddamn dime you need to spend. I won't be there to thank you in the end. Put me in the ground to decompose and inside of your heart always. This is for all my friends. Who are these motherfuckers? Behind my eyes, they never knew me in life. No, no casket please. I'll rot out with the leaves. No clothes for me to wear. The dirt won't care. Dont scatter any ashes. Scatter all my things to the deserving ones who really need. No production here, so assholes walk around and try to get your sympathy and say, "I'm glad it wasn't me." And with that said, don't say a prayer for me today. God and I, we never really spoke anyway. I tried sometimes, but he never wrote back. And I know there's no headstone where I'm lying. So where do you go when you're crying? Just hold on to a memory of me inside of your heart always. (x7)

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