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Daniel Raymond McKenzie, 23, was stabbed to death March 21st, 2008.

McKenzie was Edmonton's seventh homicide victim of the year.

Case status closed with no chrages laid.

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Good Friday 2008 turned into a bad day for an Edmonton man and his family after a stabbing in the city's north end.

At 4:06 a.m. on Friday, March 21st police and emergency medical services were called to the area of 124th Avenue and 82nd Street after a man had been assaulted during a street brawl.

Finding the victim in cardiac arrest, paramedics performed life-saving measures en route to the Royal Alexandra Hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The victim was described as being a 23-year-old native male.

"There obviously was some type of altercation on the roadway here as you can see by the bloodstaining," homicide Det. Bill Clark told media."

"We have a piece of glass from a vehicle – we don't know if this glass is involved for sure or not but that's something we'll be determining over the next few hours or days.

"Right now we are looking for a small dark car that may be missing a side window," Clark said.

Police said no suspects have been identified.

"We're just trying to determine why he (the victim) was in this area and what he was up to," the detective said.

Investigators felt the attack was not random but had yet to determine if it was gang or drug related.

"We have no ties or anything like that linking it to that, but we're still looking into those things," said Clark.

The person who made the initial 911 call told media he went to his window after he heard shouts outside.

The man said he saw two people jump into a dark vehicle and flee the scene after he observed the victim stumble from the northwest corner of the intersection at 82nd Street towards a white van parked along the south curb of 124th Avenue.

There were signs the man leaned and slid along the van ...

... stumbling and leaving a profuse blood trail on the street before pausing at the side of a red pickup truck parked in the driveway belonging to the man who made the 911 call.

The victim turned back toward the house, likely realising the extent of his injuries, and collapsed on the steps.

"It's just traumatizing," said Linda, the woman who lived in the home. "And I feel sad for the people who had to face death like that."

After the couple first noticed the injured man, one of them noticed a dark vehicle flee the area with two men inside.

"I look out the window ... and saw a car taking off," said Norm, who declined to give his last name.

"He staggered onto the van, leaned on it and then staggered onto the red truck. That's when my wife called the ambulance," he recalled. "I didn't hear him call for help."

Norm said he didn't go out to help the man because the 911 operator told him to stay inside his house.

The couple were later offered counselling by members of the victim services unit.

One man who lived in the area told Global Edmonton what he heard.

"They were yelling – not like screaming but you couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded like they were pretty drunk. And about twenty minutes after that we heard all these doors slamming and we look out the window and there's the cops," said Vern Campen.

"It's drugs that's behind it," one street-side detective observed.

Forensic officers spent most of the day detailing the scene ...

... before Edmonton Fire Rescue washed away the blood.

Late in the afternoon a memorial was set up where the man died.

Blue and pink roses were stuck in the lawn along with a photograph and a card.

On Saturday, March 22nd, media identified the victim as Daniel Raymond McKenzie.

Also on Saturday, police said they had located two persons of interest in the matter and had also seized a dark-coloured Mazda sedan.

The vehicle underwent forensic examination in a police garage. It was not confirmed if the vehicle was tied to the persons of interest.

On Sunday, after the two men who had turned themselves in were released, detectives said they didn't have enough evidence to charge them. No names were released.

An autopsy completed March 26th, 2008 confirmed that Daniel McKenzie died of stab wounds.

Daniel McKenzie leaves behind a 23-year-old common-law wife, Roxanne, and a four-year-old daughter, Kylie. Roxanne is eight months pregnant with a child conceived while the couple were separated.

Danny pledged to raise the baby as his own, Roxanne said. The couple had been together off and on since they were both 16.

McKenzie was described as a family man and a hard worker.

Originally from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and later Kamloops, British Columbia Danny moved to Edmonton in 2007 to work as a truck driver. He had held similar jobs in Fort McMurray, Red Deer and previously in Edmonton.

McKenzie was with friends and family up until just minutes before he met his death.

The 23-year-old man was in the basement of a house at 12318 82 Street with his common-law wife's cousin, 20-year-old Dallas Powder.

The pair were drinking beer and surfing the internet until McKenzie left just before 4 a.m.

Within minutes – and only a half block away – Danny encountered one or two assailants. A resident, woken by shouting in the street, called 911. By the time an ambulance had brought him to hospital Daniel was dead.

Dallas told the Edmonton Journal that he and Danny had a deal, one that reflected the tough world they saw themselves living in.

"We were just talking that if I die, he will play a song for me, and if he died I would play a song for him."

The song they both chose was If I Could Teach The World by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Hilda Powder, the aunt of Daniel's common-law wife Roxanne Powder (who is a cousin to Dallas Powder) said McKenzie was never known to be in trouble with police.

"Danny was a good person to me," Hilda Powder said. "He was like a son to me."

"Danny would come over here to play on the computer and play the stereo with Dallas. At 4 a.m. I went downstairs to tell them to turn the music down low.

"It was just after that I heard the door close. All I heard was the door so I thought maybe he went home."

On Sunday, March 23rd Daniel McKenzie's immediate family met with homicide detectives at police headquarters downtown. It was there they learned the two men investigators had spoken to were released without being charged.

At that point some of them walked out to a waiting media.

"It's not right at all. I don't think justice is being served," Roxanne Powder said. "My little girl doesn't have a father now and I'll never see him again."

Four-year-old Kylie cried out for her father.

"I want my daddy back!" she screamed. Roxanne and her aunt Tanya Powder tried to soothe the child.

"My daughter will grow up and she doesn't have a father now," said Roxanne, sobbing. "They've ruined my life. I want him back."

While police had yet to officially characterise the murder, family and friends acknowledged McKenzie's death was likely drug related.

"It was a drug deal gone ugly, that's all," said friend Tanya Powder. "A drug deal gone bad."

Roxanne said police told her both McKenzie and his assailants were armed.

"Whatever happened in the altercation, they both had knives. Danny was wounded by these people pretty seriously. But since they both had weapons, these guys are probably gonna be set free until further investigation," she said.

"We just have to wait and see if they're gonna be put away or they're gonna be free.

"That's not right. It's not right at all. I don't think justice is being served. I believe that they should be held accountable for what they did," Roxanne said.

Police told the family they were still investigating the case.

"We just have to sit and wait and see if these guys are going to be put away or if they're going to be able to walk free," said Tanya Powder.

News confirming Danny's death was the result of his involvement with drugs hit his father hard.

"It's kind of surprising to know he had another side to life I didn't know about," Ray McKenzie said of his son.

"You don't expect that. I always thought I'm gonna go first," said the man who driven to Edmonton from LaRonge, Saskatchewan so he could meet with police.

"He was always a good boy. All I've seen was just one side of it. I've never seen him drunk, or on drugs for that matter. It was one of those things that's shocking to a parent."

Ray McKenzie said through his work as a native band manager he had dealt with many youths going through similar problems.

Both Roxanne and Tanya said they didn't know Danny was a drug addict or that he was in trouble with anyone.

"He's a good father. He had a big heart and Danny wouldn't hurt anybody. He'd give his shirt off his back to anybody," said Roxanne.

The widow revealed that less than 30 minutes after her common-law husband was stabbed that she had received a phone call from a person she believed was Danny's killer.

"Some guy called me and asked me if I was Danny's girlfriend and I said yes and ... he said that Danny got what he deserved," she said.

Although Roxanne didn't remember the exact details, she said the man gave her a grim explanation of his death.

She immediately called her Aunt Hilda where Danny was hanging out. Hilda told her that Danny had gone out and hadn't returned.

"I kept phoning and Danny hadn't got back yet," Roxanne said, adding she also repeatedly rang back the number on her call display.

"I asked where was Danny, if he was OK," when somebody finally answered her call.

"He said, 'You tell me.' I asked, 'What did you do to him?' "

The man did not answer and hung up.

Roxanne later got her answer – when she watched the morning news.

"I knew it was him," she said. Then came the call came from police.

Despite the frightening early morning phone call, Roxanne said she doesn't think that the people who killed her boyfriend knew him.

Danny wasn't a violent person, Roxanne said. He wasn't involved in gangs. "He never ever carried a knife."

And he was a big guy according to his widow, over six feet tall and broad-shouldered.

It would take a lot of violence to bring him down, Roxanne said. "Nobody deserves to die like that."

As the Edmonton Journal was interviewing Roxanne at her home, CTV Edmonton's 6:00 p.m. newscast came on. Danny's death was the lead story.

With her daughter in her arms Roxanne watched with tears trickling down her cheeks.

"It's so hard," she said turning away. "My life just seems so confusing now."

The family was told an autopsy on Danny's body was expected to be conducted on Tuesday.

A wake was set to be held March 26th, 2008 with funeral services scheduled for the next day.

On July 18th, 2008 Edmonton police announced they will lay no charges in the stabbing death of Daniel McKenzie.

Investigators said that McKenzie was likely killed when other people were forced to act in self defence during a drug deal that went bad. The two persons questioned shortly after McKenzie's death had suffered stab wounds of their own.

The case was reviewed by the Crown prosecutors' office which recommended that no charges be laid.

The announcement by police caused the family of Daniel McKenzie to issue a statement. It is published in its entirety below.

FAMILY STATEMENT

At this difficult moment, as we deal with the news of the closing of the investigation into Danny’s death, we would like to share our thoughts and questions.

First of all, we would like to focus on the way that Danny will be remembered. He was a loving and much loved son, grandson, brother, partner, father, nephew, cousin and friend. He was funny, warm and smart and remained close to his extended family throughout his whole short life. His parents and daughter are devastated by his loss.

Danny made some poor decisions like many young people do and his path was not always smooth. It is difficult to accept that Danny will never have the chance to mature and begin to make better choices.

There are questions about the final hours of his life that will never be fully answered and that leave us wondering if his death could have been averted. We accept that his attackers did not intend to kill Danny . Nonetheless, they will have to live with the fact that they caused his death. And Danny is not here to defend himself or explain his actions on that night. Mostly, we are relieved to not have to experience a trial where Danny’s character would have been blackened as much as possible.

Above all, we want to move forward with compassion and hope for everyone involved in this tragedy so that all of us can begin the process of healing and forgiveness.

We believe that is what Danny would want, especially for his partner and her children. Please assist us by respecting the dignity and privacy of Danny’s grieving family.

deadmonton 2008 - daniel raymond mckenzie