Police continue to investigate a suspicious death in an effort to determine if they are dealing with a homicide – read more »
Detectives were first called out early October 6th, 2009 after reports came in of a deceased man lying on the ground in front of the Prideview Condominiums at 8310 Jasper Avenue just east of downtown.
Paramedics did what they could but soon declared the man in his 20s dead at the scene.
The man appeared to have landed on the ground after falling from a top-floor balcony. The question now remains whether he fell or was pushed.
"When our officers arrived they did find the body of a deceased adult male," a police spokesman told media. "It does look like he fell."
Early reports indicated there was some sort of party or altercation inside the suite at about 1:30 a.m. Several persons were detained for questioning but no charges have been laid.
The body remained on the ground during the early morning rush hour as forensics staff gathered at the scene.
Particular attention was paid to Suite 601 where it was believed the man fell from.
"We're trying to determine if there was any type of altercation going on," veteran homicide Det. Bill Clark said.
"We have all the people that were in the suite and hopefully they’ll be co-operative in talking to us," he added.
Detectives said they would be checking to see if there were any structural issues. From the ground it appeared the balconies were fenced by metal guardrails about a metre high.
Media spoke with a sixth-floor tenant who said he didn't know the people in the adjoining suite who had just moved in a few months ago. Arthur Letourneau said a man and a woman, both in their 20s, appeared to live there but he didn’t know their names.
"They usually had parties on the weekend. This is abnormal because they had it on a Monday," Letourneau said, adding he woke up around 1 a.m. to hear loud hip-hop music and people yelling.
"I couldn’t tell what they were saying so I couldn’t tell if they were having fun or in an argument."
Letourneau called police. "This seemed a bit odd it was on Monday so I didn't really understand that personally so I thought I'd act on it this time and to let EPS know that this has been an ongoing issue," he said.
When Letourneau later saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles he went down to the ground floor to check on what was going on. He saw the man lying face down on the ground but couldn’t tell if it was someone he had seen going in and out of Suite 601.
Police continue to treat the man's death as suspicious.
While an autopsy has been completed, investigators appear to be no further ahead in the case.
Those with information about the matter were asked to contact Edmonton police at 780-423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), Project KARE at 780-495-KARE (5273) or 1-877-412-KARE (5273) or online at www.tipsubmit.com
Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).
