chancely devlin simpson › deadmonton 2007 › deadmonton › edmonton

Chancely Devlin Simpson, 31, died in hospital six hours after being found in a basement suite on February 16th, 2007. It was later revealed he died from a single stab wound to the head.

Simpson was Edmonton's fifth homicide victim of the year.

Clinton Wabasca, 25, was charged with second-degree murder.

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At about 5:00 a.m. on February 16th, 2007 police were called to a house at 12107 127 Street.

Two men had been found unconscious in the basement, the victims of an apparent attack. The discovery was made by a woman who called paramedics.

A 31-year-old man was rushed to the Royal Alexandra Hospital Trauma Centre. He died several hours later after being taken off life support.

An autopsy was performed the same day but police did not release a cause of death. Early reports suggested the man had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Next of kin had yet to be notified.

The other man, reportedly in his late 20s, did not respond to treatment by paramedics at the scene and was taken to the University of Alberta hospital. It was thought he may have suffered from a drug overdose.

The man later regained consciousness and was released from hospital after being questioned by homicide detectives.

No suspects were identified and police secured the two-storey home as a forensics team scoured the property. A spokesman would not say whether a weapon was used or recovered by investigators.

It was reported a young couple lived with their child on the upper floor. A male tenant complained about constant noise and arguing coming from the basement, according to neighbours.

The basement level was split into two suites, one occupied by another young couple and one by a young man who lived by himself.

"You didn't see a lot of them except at night," one woman said. Others described the neighbourhood as a beehive of drug-trade activity.

A loud bang was heard by some at about 2:00 a.m. while others reported hearing it at about 4:30 a.m.

There was no word on the relationships between the woman who found the men or the men themselves. All the tenants had recently moved into the rental property which is owned by an Edmonton-based numbered company.

Police remained at the house the next day.

CTV Edmonton cameras caught up with a woman who was seen speaking to officers as she was passing by the rear of the property.

Identified on screen as a neighbour, Rena Mullen seemed to have a personal connection to the tragedy.

"We're out of here," she said. "Like, I got a boy – I can't worry about this."

"Nice enough neighbours, good store, people and that – it's just who we have living in our basement."

"And the landlord don't want to listen to us, so ... we're out of here."

Det. Dan Collins, the lead investigator on the case, was interviewed by the Edmonton Journal.

"We're still trying to track down witnesses and people of interest," Collins said. "We haven't talked to everybody who might have been there."

Collins said all the residents in the three-suite house were home at the time.

A team of five homicide officers was investigating, according to Collins, who added police had notified some of the man's relatives about his death but were still trying to contact others.

On February 20th, 2007 police identified the 31-year-old man as Chancely Devlin Simpson.

Investigators did not release the cause of his death so as not to jeopardize their ongoing investigation.

Police later said the second man's medical problem was self-inflicted and they confirmed he lived in the basement suite where Simpson was found.

On March 8th, 2007 police announced they had issued a warrant for 25-year-old Clinton Wabasca. He was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Simpson's death.

Wabasca was described as a native male, 6-feet and 180 lbs.

He has a tattoo of a small cross on his upper right arm, an eight-ball with a hat on his left hand and the flaming letter 'C' on his upper left arm. He is known to frequent the 118th Avenue area.

Police warned the public not to approach him as he may be dangerous.

Police said Wabasca and Simpson were acquaintances and they didn't believe gangs or drugs were involved in the homicide.

Wabasca was also well acquainted with police.

In November 2000, he was one of three men charged in connection with an Edmonton burglary that netted thousands of dollars in stolen property, including stereo equipment, a computer, a VCR and some cash.

He was also convicted of impaired driving in Grande Prairie in 1999.

On April 3rd, 2007 sharp-eyed patrol officers spotted a man riding a bike down an alley near 87th Street and 117th Avenue. The circumstances were made more unusual by the fact it was 3:00 a.m. on an unseasonably cold day.

Upon investigation, police found out they had finally caught up with Clinton Wabasca. In his possession were three knives, one of which was hidden in his boot.

“They probably stopped him because it’s 3 a.m. and there’s a guy in this weather riding along on a bike,” observed a police spokeman.

In addition to the second-degree murder charge in connection with Simpson's death Wabasca also faced other unrelated drug and weapon charges.

No details concerning Wabasca's first court appearance were given but police finally did reveal Simpson died from a single stab wound to the head.

It was also learned Simpson was known to police.

In 1998 he had been charged with 13 counts of theft under $5,000, one count of mischief and breach of recognizance. In 2001 Simpson was apprehended in connection with a break-and-enter.

Chancely Devlin Simpson was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He came by his unusual name due to a hospital policy and a movie.

"Thirty-one years ago you had to name your baby before you could leave the hospital," recalled Simpson's mother Marina.

"I was watching a western movie at the time and Chancely was the name of one of the men in the movie. I said, 'That's it – Chancely.' "

Chancely had a common-law wife and two young sons – Blaze, 2, and Hunter, 1.

Marina said he was working as a roofer, switching back and forth between two different companies.

"He was outgoing, hard-working – no matter what, he always wanted to work. He was a goofy person, too – he always wanted to laugh and tease and try to be a jokester," she said.

Police have not said why Simpson was in the basement suite. Days after the murder a large bloodstain on a bedroom carpet could still be seen through a broken window, along with blood also visible on the bedroom wall.

"It's a shock to me – I'm having a hard time dealing with it. It hasn't hit me yet, as to why [it happened]," Marina told the Edmonton Sun.

She said she last saw Chancely when they met for dinner on Valentine's Day, two days before his death.

Chancely had crossed paths with the law as far back as 1998 when was charged with 13 counts of theft under $5,000, one count of mischief and breach of recognizance in connection with a spree of thefts from apartment laundry machine coin boxes.

In March 2001, he was charged in a burglary at Pioneer Exchange at 3908 118 Avenue.

A memorial service for Simpson was set be held at Sacred Heart Church later in the week ending February 24th, 2007.

deadmonton 2007 - chancely devlin simpson