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For stories covering Edmonton's 2007 murder record, Edmonton media interviewed two heads of the city's police homicide unit as well as Chief Mike Boyd.

Staff Sgt. Lorne Pubantz blamed the high homicide rate on gangster lifestyles (covered earlier by this site) and his 16-man unit's low clearance rate on "a reluctance" on the part of witnesses to talk.

The officer pointed to several cases in which the victims weren't directly targeted by their killers, “they themselves have been putting themselves in a lifestyle where there's a higher risk – they're associated to people in this high-risk lifestyle of drug and gang activity,” according to Pubantz.

"If you are not putting yourself into what we would call a high-risk lifestyle then your chances of being involved in a level of violence such as this is very minimal."

"If your childen can avoid that – to all the parents that are out there – then this will be a better city," the officer added.

With regard to the year's clearance rate hovering at just 38% (charges laid in only 12 murders, leaving 20 cases open), Staff Sgt. Chris Kluthe, who also heads the homicide section, said such statistics can be misleading.

“A lot of the time, homicides are cleared a year later,” Kluthe said, adding investigations have become more complex as police increasingly rely on DNA and other forensic evidence.

In 2006, of that year's 36 homicides, only 14 cases remain with charges laid in 18, not laid or withdrawn in 3, in addition to one police-involved shooting.

In 2005, police laid charges in 28 of 39 homicides, representing a department record clearance rate of 71%.

A hallmark of several high-profile cases in 2007 was the reluctance of witnesses to provide evidence to investigators, part of a trend Pubantz said has been plaguing police forces for the past decade.

"Some of the greatest challenges we face are getting the all information. Ultimately, we as investigators, are just searching for the truth. And we need to take that truth and turn that truth into evidence so it will get us into a court of law."

"When we know that they were present and they don't tell us information we get very frustrated. All that's required for evil to flourish is for one person to do nothing – for good people to do nothing."

In the car-to-car December 7th shooting of Erin Anne Tilley, the woman driving the car with the dying victim as her passenger has refused to co-operate.

Police believe other passengers in the car fled as the driver made a nearly seventy-block trip to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, ironically or intentionally driving away from the much-closer Misericordia Hospital. Tilley died from gunfire likely intended for others in the car.

Lack of co-operation was involved in the death-by-dismembement case of David Wong on February 20th. Four men were charged with counts of accessory to murder and offering an indignity to a body, but no one has been charged with Wong's death.

Pubantz suggested it was now too easy for persons of interest to call a lawyer and say they have a right not to aid police.

"Just because people have the right not to talk to police doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. We can provide a safe environment for people in Edmonton."

Pubantz also noted that things sometime work the other way, with participants coming forward against the advice of lawyers.

The August 6th death of Robin Timothy Gillman was ruled non-culpable after brothers of the man willingly told police of a fraternal fight under the Kinnard Ravine bridge.

The silent witness of video evidence played a role in at least one murder. Charges in the December 9th murder of Wing Fung at a Chinatown bakery were laid as a result of surveillance footage.

For detectives, there was one case in 2007 that has them stumped. The year's third homicide, the Bonnie Doon alley stabbing of Stephane Landry on January 21st, remains unsolved despite the belief among detectives that someone with information "is out there."

"History tells us that it is very seldom that somebody murders someone and doesn't tell. Somebody out there always knows," Pubantz said.

Police said there nine gang-related killings in 2007, down from 11 in 2006. In those cases, the code of the street is likely behind those involved not co-operating with authorities and instead handling the situation themselves.

"We fear there may be vigilante justice," Pubantz reflected. "Those associated with the gangs would rather take care of their own justice rather than let the police handle it. That does nothing to make the city safer."

Kluthe said the "code of silence" causes detectives to focus more effort on those cases, seeking out persons with information, resulting in time taken away from other investigations.

Police spent months trying to track down their prime suspect in the May 6th execution-style murder of Ola Tinineh Moses – only to find him dead on December 2nd. Nawar Jawad was beaten to death, dumped in a ditch and set on fire as a warning to others in the gang lifestyle to toe the line. Jawad's body took four days to thaw before the "Y" incision could be made and investigators fear that this could end up as another one of the year's cold cases.

The "code of silence" is as old as crime itself but has become a more frequent challenge for local investigators.

Chief Mike Boyd says the problem requires several solutions.

"We've got to look from a justice system perspective around the issues of witness protection. We've also got to deal with who are attempting to obstruct justice and consider our enforcement options around people who are harbouring criminals, that are obstructing investigations."

Boyd suggested that unco-operative witnesses should be subpoenaed so that a judge can compel them to testify or face contempt-of-court charges.

The chief pointed out that unsolved cases remain active no matter what year they took place.

"Many of the cases they are working on are not yet closed, but the investigations are progressing very well. I expect that a number of the ones that aren't currently closed will be in the new year. I know we're making great progress on a number of the cases."

"We know right now who some of the offenders are and we're a little short on the evidence that's required to make the arrest and put them before the court," Boyd stated.

"We're very sensitive to the families – we want to get the answers for them. Again, it's the investigation that speaks for the victim and ultimately for the families themselves," Pubantz echoed.

For a complete summary of the year's cases, including victim ages and causes of death, visit the Deadmonton 2007 page.

The Edmonton Police Service homicide section also released their own Year End Workload Analysis/Statistical Report (opens as a .pdf).

deadmonton - why edmonton? - code of silence and gangster lifestyle headlines story of 2007's homicides

edmonton, alberta – the murder capital of canada