William Arthur Reid Hill, 57, was found dead on June 23rd, 2011.
Hill was Edmonton's twenty-eighth homicide victim of the year.
Suwastikh Kumar, 30, was charged with first-degree murder.
Krishnil Visal Mani, 24, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, and two counts of obstruction.
The story of the murder of William Arthur Reid Hill unravelled slowly and ended up sounding not unlike a Quentin Tarantino movie featuring a cast of characters who likely flunked crime school.
At about 8:00 p.m. June 23rd, 2011, officers gained entry to a home at 10907 97 Street and found the body of an individual inside.
It was the second suspicious death in two days for police and homicide resources were getting stretched.
The body wasn't removed from the McCauley-area home until the next morning and investigators held their cards close on this one, saying little until autopsy results came in.
It wasn't the best address in town and most neighbours kept to themselves. Nobody had heard anything unusual before police arrived and most weren't sure who lived at the house – read more »
A man who did yard work for the home's landlord cut the lawn at the house at about 7:30 p.m. – just before officers came knocking.
John Swartz said a man and a woman lived in the house, a rental property that was undergoing a renovation.
One level of the three-storey house was rented while the rest of the house was vacant, Swartz said.
It's not unusual to hear yelling in the area, Lonna Fischer, Swartz's common-law wife, said.
"Unless it was someone screaming for help, we would have no reason to poke our head out the window."
Next door neighbour Chandy Pov said a couple had moved into the home about three or four months before and kept to themselves.
A man who rented out the property said the tenant living there was a man in his sixties named Larry who had a disability and was living on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) benefits.
Forensics staff remained at the house picking through the littered property.
Later that day came word that the man found inside the home was a victim of homicide. No further details were released.
"Right now, we are trying to contact the man's next of kin and that is why we are not releasing the name at this time," homicide Det. Dan Jones said.
It was revealed that the medical examiner was still trying to determine the man's cause of death, along with how long his body had been in the home.
A homicide investigator with a reputation of sharing his insights when given the right opportunity revealed something of interest to the Edmonton Sun.
Det. Bill Clark said that the man had died "a few days" before he was found by someone inside the home.
A police spokesman added that witnesses were cooperating.
"There does seem to be a lot of transient activity at the home," the spokesman said.
It also emerged that the man who had initially contacted police said officers didn't arrive at the home until three days after his first call.
Larry Motheral, a 69-year-old tenant in the home, had noticed something that looked like a body in a storage closet.
"It was wrapped up in a blanket, it was sort of like a comforter," Motheral said, adding there was a strong odour coming out of the room.
Motheral said he didn't know the victim or why he was in the home.
At the time, police did not comment on Motheral's assertions.
The death was yet another on or near Edmonton's Avenue of Nations.
The stretch along 107th Avenue between 93rd and 116th Streets had now seen 27 homicides over the past two decades – see Problems persist on the Avenue of Nations.
On June 27th, police identified 57-year-old William Arthur Reid Hill as the city's twenty-eighth homicide victim of 2011 – topping the previous year's tally of 27.
However, discounting two cases brought forward from previous years for statistical purposes, 2011's count remained at a relatively safer total of 26.
Police continued to reveal little else about Hill's death other than saying the man was of no fixed address.
Earlier on the 27th, downtown commuters were surprised to see a high-risk takedown in the middle of the morning rush hour.
With weapons drawn, police stopped a 2006 light-grey Pontiac G6 at about 8:45 a.m. on 109th Street southbound between Jasper Avenue and 102nd Avenue. A man and a woman were seen being taken into custody.
On June 28th came word that the downtown drama and the death of Hill were connected and that two murder charges had been laid.
It turned out the Pontiac had been reported stolen and police were keeping a sharp eye out for it. When they pulled the vehicle over they identified the driver as a suspect in Hill's murder. A second man was arrested later in the day at a separate location.
Krishnil Visal Mani, 24, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, and two counts of obstruction.
Suwastikh Kumar, 30, was charged with first-degree murder.
Police said the accused men and the victim were known to each other. First-degree murder is distinguished by elements of premeditation, planning and intent.
The heightened police interest in this particular Pontiac stemmed from the fact that it belonged to Hill.
A spokesman also explained earlier statements made by the man who had initially notified police about finding Hill's body in the 97th Street home.
The original call came in on June 22nd but at the time the caller was at a different location.
When police went to the residence they were unable to gain access. Officers re-visited the home the next day and found Hill's body.
Cause of death was blunt force trauma, police said, adding that Hill was staying as a guest in the house where he was found.
On July 8th, 2011, friends and family gathered to mourn a man most simply knew as Bill – read more »
At a service held at the Chalmers-Castledown United Church at 12315 132 Avenue, the grandfather and former restauranteur was fondly remembered.
Bill Hill grew up in Saskatchewan and spent most of his childhood in Lloydminster.
By 1975 he was married. Now with a young son and daughter, he managed Boston Pizza restaurants in Grande Prairie and Peace River.
The foursome eventually settled in Hardisty. It was there that Hill ran the Pipeliner Cafe. He eventually opened his own restaurant, Hardisty Pizza, and became known as "Pizzaman."
"He was pretty good for the community," a long-term Hardisty business owner said.
Hill played and coached hockey in the town of 800, 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. He was remembered as community-minded, always willing to donate meals, coupons, and money to local hockey tournaments and rodeos.
"He helped with a lot of stuff," the business owner said. "We couldn't believe it was the same Bill Hill."
After living in Hardisty for about a dozen years, Hill started up an eatery in west Edmonton called Pizzaman. The business failed.
Starting around 2006, Hill leased a restaurant in a small hamlet near Viking called the Kinsella Kountry Kafe which eventually became known for good burgers, excellent homemade soups and great conversation.
This time, it was his marriage that failed and Hill eventually moved back to Edmonton.
"Bill was one proud dad and grandfather. When he got on the topic of his children and grandchildren, he went on and on," his brother-in-law Art Roberge said.
On July 9th, 2011, the Edmonton Journal published contents of court documents that indicated William Arthur Reid Hill died between June 20th and 21st.
The records also showed that the stolen 2006 Pontiac G6 that police stopped had been leased by Hill since early 2010.
On August 22nd, 2011, Suwastikh Kumar made his first court appearance.
The next day, contents of a search warrant police used in his case appeared in stories run by the Journal and CBC Edmonton.
The document described what police figure was behind the drug-fuelled beating death of the 57-year-old – read more »
In an affidavit sworn by homicide Det. Dan Jones and filed with the courts to obtain a search warrant for Kumar's residence, investigators laid out how and possibly why Hill was murdered.
Allegations contained in the document had yet to been proven in court.
June 22nd, 2011
Tenant Larry Motheral calls police to report a dead body in his suite. Two officers are sent to the home but leave after they are unable to locate Motheral and get into the house.
June 23rd
A sex-trade worker confides in a vice squad detective that she knows about a homicide.
The woman is afraid to say more at first but later tells the officer a man named "Kumar" strangled a john in a home on 97th Street, beating his head in with a hammer and then stuffing is body into an attic cubbyhole.
That evening, police discover Hill's body.
After a search warrant is obtained, police re-enter the home and check Hill's pockets which are empty except for a comb.
They find no wallet or phone. Hill's identity was later confirmed through fingerprints.
June 24th
Detectives talk to Larry Motheral's girlfriend – an eyewitness, the document says – who gives a sworn statement detailing events.
On the day of Hill's death (either June 20th and 21st), Motheral – an AISH recipient – was in the hospital. His girlfriend decides to invite four people over in his absence.
One of the guests was a woman. Motheral's girlfriend says she knows the three male invitees as Bill (the soon-to-be deceased), Chris and his cousin she calls "K."
Detectives believe "K" is Suwastikh Kumar, according to court doucments.
The afternoon is spent consumming mass quantities.
At some point during the gathering, K gives a rock of crack cocaine to Chris and Hill to sell.
When the two men return, K learns that instead of selling the drugs, Chris smoked them. K is upset at Hill for allowing that to happen.
K brings out a hammer from a bag and herds the group into the house.
Once inside, according to Motheral's girlfriend, K begins by saying he thinks Hill is some type of hit man for the Hells Angels. Hill denies the accusation.
K makes Hill empty his pockets and takes his wallet and phone. He tells Chris to gag the "hit man" and tie him up.
Hill is bound at the ankles with electrical cord. Then his arms are tied in front and two more cords are wrapped around his neck. A shirt is used to blindfold and gag the 57-year-old.
Police would later find an electric fan and a DVD player in the home – both with their power cords ripped out.
Hill then speaks, asking God to forgive K for what he is about to do.
K reacts by kicking Hill in the face. Then K and Chris take turns in an attempt to strangle the man. He refuses to die.
Motheral's girlfriend said Hill made "snoring noises."
K takes this as a sign of Hill's Hells Angel hit-man training, being able to hold his breath while being strangled.
K then strikes Hill repeatedly in the head with a hammer. He then hands it to Chris and tells him to do the same.
Chris takes only one swing.
Motheral's girlfriend said K and Chris wrap Hill up in a couple of blankets and a comforter, using electrical cords to hold them in place.
But Hill is not dead ... and continues making noises.
K resumes hitting Hill with the hammer.
The medical examiner later ruled Hill's death was the result of blows to the head, consistent with being hit by a hammer. Hill's body was found with electrical cords wrapped around his hands, legs and neck.
K tells Chris to get Hill's car, back it up to the house and open the trunk.
Motheral's girlfriend figures K wants to put Hill's body in the car and dump it somewhere.
Instead, Chris takes off and doesn't come back.
Motheral's girlfriend and the other woman help K put Hill's body in the attic's crawl space. The three then go to K's mother's house which is nearby.
K tells his mother he has committed a murder, adding he had to do it. K puts his jeans in a washing machine and changes his clothes.
In her sworn statement, Motheral's girlfriend says that's the last time she saw K.
June 26th
Police search Suwastikh Kumar's home and find a pair of shoes that test positive for blood.
They also find a yellow-handled hammer with a rusted head. However, no obvious signs of blood are found on the tool.
June 27th
Kumar is arrested after police pull over another man driving Hill's light grey Pontiac G6 on 109th Street near Jasper Avenue.
24-year-old Krishnil Visal Mani was charged the next day with first-degree murder, two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, and two counts of obstruction.
30-year-old Kumar was also charged with first-degree murder for his part in William Arthur Reid Hill's death.
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.
The Last Link on the Left practices fair presentation and the disclosure of relevant interests.
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