leonard fred halkett › deadmonton 2007 › deadmonton › edmonton

WARNING

Leonard Fred Halkett, 21, was stabbed to death May 24th, 2007.

Halkett was Edmonton's fifteenth homicide victim of the year.

Case status is open and active.

What Leonard Halkett needed most late one night in downtown Edmonton was a doctor – not the defence lawyer who found him after he was stabbed near a city men's shelter.

The unusual story took place at about 10:00 p.m. on May 24th, 2007 when a passerby found a man stumbling near a car on a surface parking lot on the south side of 102nd Avenue west of 96th Street behind the Salvation Army residence.

The unconscious and not breathing man had suffered a number of stab wounds and was quickly transported by paramedics. He died shortly afterwards on an operating table undergoing emergency surgery at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Insp. Dan Jones brought the media up to speed at the scene.

"We have no suspects. We have a number of people who came upon the scene that we're currently talking to and hoping to be able to determine exactly what took place here."

Jones said witnesses saw the man talking to several people shortly before the attack and have provided possible suspect descriptions. No one directly observed the stabbing itself.

Jones added the murder victim was known to police and given the location and circumstances he doesn't believe the stabbing was a random act.

"If we have the right name, and we believe we do, then he is approximately [in his] mid-20s. I think he knows other people in the area so he is not unknown to the district."

The man who found the victim was no stranger to dealing with murder himself.

Criminal defence lawyer Naeem Rauf was on his way home from work when he saw the man stumbling around the corner of the Salvation Army men's residence.

"I just assumed he was drunk," he said.

As the man lifted himself up and fell several times Rauf phoned 911.

After being told by the dispatcher they would send a police van, Rauf thought he would head home and asked three men standing nearby if they would stay with the man.

The three men noticed the man had been stabbed and started CPR.

"It's so hard to know what to do," the lawyer said in his defence. "I didn't want to be covered in blood or vomit. I thought he was drunk."

Rauf told media cameras what he saw after emergency personnel came to the scene.

"They arrived very quickly. By that time the gentleman who was working on him had lifted his shirt and there was blood on his stomach."

"It wasn't like soaked in blood or anything but I didn't see any stab wound ... I understand the man was stabbed."

As a defence lawyer, Rauf has represented Karl "Scooter" Strongman in the beating death of cabbie Hassan Mohammed Yussuf and William Edward Wharry Jr. in the shooting death of 18-year-old Sara Easton.

A Salvation Army spokesman admitted there is an "element" of crime and violence in the area.

"It's a neighbourhood where people struggle to cope with everyday life and whether it's a mental health issue, or addiction, or they're just on the street," said Maj. Brian Venables.

Venables said Halkett was not a resident or a client of the facility.

"He just happened to be between our buildings ... what a tragedy," he said.

"He obviously knew the area [because he was in the alleys] Or maybe he didn't, and shouldn't have been there at that time."

An autopsy confirmed that 21-year-old Leonard Fred Halkett of Saskatchewan died from multiple stab wounds.

A later report suggested Halkett wasn't known to Edmonton police but his was a familiar name in Saskatchewan police circles. No details were provided.

Edmonton homicide detectives were last heard speaking to someone considered to be a person of interest. No motive was put forward.

The investigation continues and police asked for the public's help with the investigation.

Those with information are asked to contact Edmonton police at 423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.tipsubmit.com - a secure tip submission web site.

By the next morning, only an increased police presence in the form of bicycle cops suggested a tragedy had occured behind the Salvation Army building.

Police continued to search for suspects and word came that no weapon had been recovered.

Both the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun contacted members of Leonard Fred Halkett's family.

Relatives said Halkett recently moved to Edmonton to find work. He grew up in Little Red, a reserve north of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

"He was a good kid," said his 42-year-old brother Howard Halkett.

"He was looking for a better life and he got caught up in the wrong crowd," Howard added, admitting his brother was known to police in Saskatchewan.

For Leonard's mother Josephine, the news of her son's death was "devastating," according to Howard.

Josephine Halkett last saw her great-nephew, a boy she raised from the age of three months, the week before in Edmonton. Halkett was legally adopted by Josephine as a baby.

She told their family he was doing well and his search for work as a carpenter seemed to be panning out.

"He was her baby," Howard said. "He was an awesome kid but I think he was different from everybody else."

Halkett's niece, Jolene Bird, said the young man got along with everybody. "I never heard of anybody trying to go after him or anything," she said.

"He was a good character," an uncle who would not give his own name said. "He was outgoing, he had a lot of friends."

Leonard did not finish high school, and the uncle was unable to say whether he had left the reserve alone or with friends.

The family planned to reclaim Leonard's body on May 28th and were planning a funeral for the following week.

The story of a young man moving to Edmonton from Saskatchewan and dying as the result of being stabbed struck a familiar chord.

20-year-old Dylan Cole McGillis was stabbed to death November 19th, 2006 on Whyte Avenue as he was celebrating a new start in Alberta's capital city.

As part of its coverage of the Halkett murder, the Edmonton Sun's Ajay Bhardwaj contacted Grant McGillis, Dylan's father » full details »

With little to report in the case, The Sun hit the bricks to find out what the word on the street was. As reporter Ajay Bhardwaj found out, it was an assignment best carried out in daylight.

The paper reported Edmonton's inner city has gotten so violent, even the regulars said they were afraid to go outside, even during the bright light of day.

"People are getting beaten asking for smokes," said Bob Sauve, 34, a Salvation Army resident. "Guys are killing each other for five dollars for crack and meth."

"I don't walk outside at night," said 37-year-old Jeff Shurek. "Even during the day I don't like to go out." The man said fights, beatings and knifings occur "daily" in the city's inner core.

Maj. Brian Venables of the Salvation Army said he doesn't fear for his personal safety, but added newcomers are the ones who earn the ire of downtown regulars.

"I don't know if it's boredom or desperation, but they lash out at someone who comes into their area," Venables said.

The Sun interviewed a man who worked in the area. He said the Guardian Angels should think about setting up in the inner city before tackling 118th Avenue as they have announced.

"I'd like them to start here instead," said the man, adding that altercations are becoming frequent in the area.

"It concerns me, but it's becoming normal," he said. "There's a lot of rough characters around here."

Mike Lu, who has run a printing firm near 101st Avenue and 96th Street for a decade, has seen the area overrun by the homeless. Needles and drugs are a regular find in the yard behind his shop.

"Sometimes I work late, so I have to lock the door," Lu said. But he pointed out that increased violence seemed to be occuring all over Edmonton and not just in the inner city.

Brian Bradshaw, who parks his car near where Halkett was found, said he's not a fan of the inner city.

"I only park here during the day," said Bradshaw. "There's no way in hell I'll wander around here at night."

Less than a week after Halkett's murder, the trial of three youths charged in the beating death of 52-year-old Russell Ross began.

Ross and two other homeless men residing in the downtown core were set upon by two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old on October 20th, 2006 while the men were drinking in an alley ten blocks from where Halkett was stabbed.

As Ross died several days after the initial attack, the three youths were charged with assault causing bodily harm.

On June 12th, 2007 it was reported that police were interested in speaking with a number of persons in connection with Halkett's death.

After interviewing witnesses, investigators were seeking four suspects (as police termed them) all described as being native, male and wearing black clothing.

Police said they would also like to speak with a fifth person, a native female, that they believe was also in the area at the same time who may have information regarding the identity of the four male suspects.

The woman had dyed blonde hair and was wearing pants with one leg rolled up and the other down.

Police renewed their appeal to the public for help in identifying the persons described.

Outtakes

During the course of story coverage, many images are recorded but not all are published. Some are redundant, some are of less than optimal quality and some do not fit editorial context.

For the interest of readers, these "outtakes" can be viewed here. Note: not all images have been reduced in file size – page may be slow in loading.

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