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WARNING

Daniel Louis Thomas, 25, died from a single stab wound on May 17th, 2010.

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

A 15-year-old male, who cannot be identified under provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with second-degree murder and two weapons-related offences.

Police have made an arrest in connection with Edmonton's fifth homicide of 2010, the first in over two months – see below.

A city maintenance worker called emergency services shortly before 2:00 a.m. on May 17th after coming across a man's body on a landing halfway down the wooden staircase below the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald.

Arriving officers immediately called for homicide detectives. Early reports indicated that the man found lying face down, described as being between 18 and 28 years old, suffered visible trauma – possibly stab wounds.

Police secured the scene around and below the hotel as well as the transit centre on 100th Street near Telus Plaza. The canine unit and the Air One police helicopter was brought in to assist.

A police spokesman later confirmed the man sustained severe trauma and investigators were treating the matter as a homicide, the city's first since March 12th.

Veteran homicide detective Bill Clark later revealed the man suffered obvious trauma to the head.

"We're looking for an edged weapon, possibly a knife," Clark said.

Interviews with city workers and street people yielded a possible suspect, decribed as a native male between 14 and 20 years old, with a thin moustache and short hair, wearing dark clothing.

Some witnesses said the suspect may have been in or near the bus shelter near Telus Plaza.

Clark said the victim and the suspect were spotted together in the area, and that the the suspect was last seen walking northbound toward Jasper Avenue.

"It occurred off transit property," Edmonton transit spokesman Patricia Dickson told media.

"There was a question of whether the person actually used the shelter, so the police have closed that for the moment while they check it out."

Surveillance footage taken by transit and Telus cameras has been secured by investigators.

"Right now, our crime scenes people are on the scene and are conducting their examinations. We also have called out a civilian search team to assist with searching the brush area around the hill there for a weapon," Det. Clark said.

Later in the day, police identified the murder victim as 25-year-old Daniel Louis Thomas of Edmonton.

Thomas has been living in an inner city shelter and was last seen there early the morning before.

Detectives said they were trying to establish a timeline for the last 20 hours of his life and where he may have gone or who he may have been with prior to his death.

An autopsy determined Thomas died of a single stab wound. Police continue to look for an edged weapon.

So far, no motive has been established.

On May 22nd, police announced that an arrest had been made in the case.

A 15-year-old male, who cannot be identified under provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with second-degree murder and two weapons-related offences.

The teen was set to make his first court appearance on May 25th.

CBC Edmonton reported that the 15-year-old was aboriginal, a ward of the province at the time of his arrest, and was living in an Edmonton group home.

Funeral services for Daniel were held on May 23rd.

The murder of Daniel Louis Thomas was the first homicide case Edmonton police had to deal with in 2010 since the March 12th shooting of 39-year-old Garth Radons.

While the two-month gap seemed like a long time – given the city's recent homicide rates – such a respite for detectives was not out of the ordinary – read more »

The transit shelter near Telus Plaza was also the scene of Edmonton's fourteenth homicide of 2009 – read more »

All the information presented on this page has been compiled primarily from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site.
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deadmonton 2010 - daniel louis thomas