Eric Dexter Janvier, 44, was stabbed on July 30th, 2011.
Janvier was Edmonton's 33rd homicide victim of the year.
Monwat Akool Madood, 21, was charged with second-degree murder.
dead because he was homeless |
memorial | media temptation
It was hard to figure what someone was thinking ... stabbing a man sleeping on a bench in broad daylight under the watch of surveillance cameras.
But that's what happened on July 30th, 2011, in front of the Boyle Street Services building at 10116 105 Avenue.
A community worker called the death "senseless, random, awful," and it was the second murder of a homeless man in the city's core in just two days.
At about 3:00 p.m. on a sunny Saturday afternoon, police descended on the scene after a report of a stabbing came in.
EMS also responded and transported an injured man to hospital where he died a short time later.
Homicide detectives were called out and soon the suspicious death was upgraded to murder – the city's fourth in a week and 33rd of the year.
One veteran officer was quick to put the murder in perspective.
"He was just sleeping on the bench, minding his own business doing nothing," detective Bill Blark said.
"It was a senseless callous act and I don't have an explanation for you."
The act also left area residents and witnesses baffled and shocked – read more »
"When I walked out the door, I saw all the police. And went back inside," next door neighbour Arthur Houston said.
Another resident living at the former Macdonald's Consolidated Warehouse next to the drop-in centre was returning home when he saw crime scene tape marking off the avenue.
"It scared me. I asked a police officer what happened and he told me somebody was stabbed," John Abina said. "This area is not safe. It's very sad. We're losing our people for no reason."
An unidentified woman cried as she watched officers converge at the scene.
"The police told me that it was my brother that died," she said.
Another unidentified woman said she wasn't suprised by the violence.
"Many assaults – everday," she said.
Fearing for his safety, the woman had even tried to wake the victim moments before he was killed.
Friend Holly Lindstrom came across the man as he lay dying.
"I just grabbed his hand and started praying, right," Lindstrom said. "And it was really horrifying."
"I didn't want him to leave us. Cuz he was a nice man. Everybody loved him."
When asked if she feared for her safety on the streets, Lindstrom placed her faith in a higher power.
"Exactly I do," she said. "But again, I pray, right."
A man visiting town, interviewed at the scene, was likely wondering if he had made the right decision.
"I can't believe the violence that takes place in this city." Chris Nickerson said.
"Guy's taking a nap and he gets stabbed. It just doesn't make any sense at all. That's what scares me too. I don't feel safe walking the streets."
The man's death was also yet another close to Edmonton's Avenue of Nations.
The stretch along 107th Avenue between 93rd and 116th Streets has now seen 29 homicides over the past two decades – see Problems persist on the Avenue of Nations.
"The victim was asleep on the bench," detective Dale Johnson later echoed. "He was approached by the suspect and stabbed.
"There was no interaction between the two, but there may have been in the preceding hours and minutes. We're looking at the possibility there was some sort of connection between them."
The officer said the fact that it was all caught on camera made their investigation and the Crown's future prosecution that much easier.
"Based on the video, it just shows sort of a random attack," Johnson said.
"It is a very unnerving scenario to play out. What it does depict does indicate it may be a random act."
Watching the video with police was Julian Daly, executive director of Boyle Street Community Services.
"It's so senseless, it's so shocking," Daly said.
"A young man walked across the car park which is opposite Boyle Street, just crossed the road. Dexter was asleep on the bench. He stabs him and just walks off. Just like that – senseless, random, awful."
Daly said the homeless people saw the bench as safe place to rest.
Conspicuous surveillance cameras dot the building, with prominent signs warning of their presence.
"Our benches are one of the places in the city our clients can rest without being moved along," Daly said.
Most times, inner city violence is up close and personal, leaving those on the outside wondering how and why it happens. But viewing this unprovoked murder carried out on screen didn't offer much in the way of insight.
"An explanation doesn't make it better, but it can make sense of something like this. It's so hard to make sense of this one," Daly said.
Forensics staff and investigators made short work of the compact crime scene – see images »
Not only did the video offer great assistance to police, but so did the suspect.
As officers investigated, the man returned to the crime scene and was promptly arrested.
Police said the 21-year-old was known to them and they were expecting to lay charges shortly.
The identity of the victim was withheld until an autopsy and the notification of next of kin had been completed.
On July 31st, police announced that they had charged 21-year-old Monwat Akool Madood with second-degree murder.
Questioned at the scene about the city's increasing homicide toll, Det. Johnson offered what he could.
"I don't know what I can say that others haven't already said. We're busy, we're diligent in investigating all the homicides," Johnson said.
"For the time being we're keeping on top of all of them."
On August 2nd, just as the murdered man was being honoured at the spot where he was killed, police officially released his name, announcing that 44-year-old Eric Dexter Janvier had died from a stab wound.
In addition to being the 33rd murder of the year, Janvier's death was the fourth in a week.
One politician maintained that Edmontonians had no reason to be alarmed, while criminologists suggested that homicide was simply part of the city's culture – read more »
City brass were still reeling from the Edmonton Sun's notorious front page (ironically published the day of Janvier's murder).
It fell to councillor Kim Krushell to convince citizens that they should be looking at the bigger picture instead of tabloid covers.
"Well, the fact is that Edmonton's a pretty safe city," Krushell said. "We do have a high murder rate right now, our chief of police is taking action.
"We have more police on the streets than we did five years ago. We are beefing up security, we have peace officers, and transit officers," Krushell noted.
Granted, overall violent crime was down for the first two quarters of the year (about seven per cent over 2101), but not everyone believed more feet on the street was the simple answer to solving the rising homicide rate.
"Well I think it is a bit suprising," retired University of Alberta criminologist Keith Spencer told CTV Edmonton about the difference in the numbers.
"A few drug murders, a few domestic murders ... there isn't a pattern, there isn't a theme to it that tells you where you can kind of intervene."
The safe-city message was echoed by police who agreed that without a trend, crime prevention was difficult.
"In many of the cases, the victim knew their attacker," a spokesman said, adding that the public had no reason to fear for their safety.
"If you look at who was involved, when it occurred, you can see there is no discernible trend."
The analysis was shared by another member of city council.
"There's no one single factor that you can say 'Okay, if we deal with this issue, we can deal with homicides,' " Ward 12 representative Amarjeet Sohi noted.
Edmonton's 33 murders didn't stack up well against Calgary's three, Vancouver's nine, Montreal's 20, and Toronto's 26. Winnipeg – in the middle of gang turf wars – had only 23.
Even with the homicide section now augmented by 12 additional officers – including four forensic staff – transferred from other departments, the cases were piling up as fast as resources could be matched.
"Officers have been working diligently, but it is a taxing process. They do continue to work hard through it," the police spokesman said, noting that detectives were handling the workload well.
What was frustrating for investigators, he said, was that there seemed to be no pattern to the deaths.
But the spokesman did point to the successes police had, saying about half of the year's murders had been cleared (these included police-involved shootings, deaths inside prisons, and cases where charges were not laid).
He also encouraged residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to police.
When asked by Global Edmonton as to why Edmonton enjoyed higher than national average homicide numbers, Spencer pointed to the economic oasis the provincial capital offers.
"We attract people with social problems and high-risk lifestyles because we've got resources here for them," he said.
"And we also attract criminal elements that want to get in on the good economy here."
On July 7th, 2011, Mayor Stephen Mandel and newly-minted police chief Rod Knecht met to discuss a violence strategy that would possibly introduce controls over edged weapons, education programs and an increased police presence in problem neighbourhoods. Spencer didn't hold out much hope for such a plan.
"The meetings are very political but because of the randomness – the sort of 'non-plannededness' to the vast majority of these murders – it's very hard to develop a plan for irrational behaviour."
As for the 'feeling safe' issue ...
"The general public isn't affected by these events," Spencer said. "They're amongst a pretty narrow group of the sub-population."
Veteran homicide detective Bill Clark concurred.
"We look at the homicides we've had this year in Edmonton and, you know, the majority – I would say 90% of them – have alcohol or drugs involved in some way or the other," Clark said.
For their contributuion to the narrative of the city as a murder magnet, CBC Edmonton checked in with a well-quoted Grant MacEwan University criminologist.
"Edmonton has a culture of homicide," Bill Pitt said.
"People here have embraced, culturally, the expression of violence to a much higher degree than just about every other city in western Canada."
With the murder toll at 33 and five months still left in the year, was it possible that 2011 would not be a record-setting year? One police officer seemed more than a bit pessimistic.
"Could we go many months without a homicide? I suppose we could," homicide detective Dale Johnson said.
"Statistically, is that possible? It's unlikely."
Janvier's death also had an impact on social workers and others in the homeless community.
"There's a lot of mixed emotions – a lot of anger, a lot of people frustrated, and a lot of the community members just don't know how to feel," said Gary Moostoos, a cultural support worker with Boyle Street Community Services.
Coming just two days after the death of 30-year-old Eric Larry Cardinal – stabbed in Mary Burlie Park three blocks away – the wave of close-to-home violence had inner-city advocates concerned – read more »
"We're not seeing it at the shelters, or at the community meals, just on the street," Hope Mission worker Denis Meier said.
In addition to problems associated with alcohol and drug abuse, Meier pointed out it wasn't hard to set some people off when they don't have all their faculties about them.
"The rather troubling trend is to see so many weapons," he said. "Lots are carrying knives on the street, and that's how arguments are being settled."
Solutions don't come easy, Meier offered, suggesting the only way to get people off of alcohol and drugs and ultimately off the streets is for them to want it themselves.
"Certainly coming to that realization (is important). We have an extremely successful recovery program. They come to the realization that that's not who they want to be," he said.
"The sad reality is that no one comes until they are ready. And many of these guys just aren't ready yet."
With two deaths in two days, the new reality of living on the street might give some living downtown an incentive.
"You either clean up or you die. That's what we're seeing right now."
Ironically, getting off the street was exactly where the man from Cold Lake was headed when he died.
Dead because he was homeless
"Dexter died, in my view, because he was homeless," Boyle Street Services executive director Julian Daly said.
The shelter the Boyle Street Co-op offers wasn't available the day Janvier was stabbed as the drop-in centre closes weekends during the summer.
Daly said he believed if he had the funding to stay open every day, Janvier would be still alive.
"If we had the money to open our drop-in on the weekend and staff it properly, I'd do it next weekend," he said.
"Resources need to be put in place for weekends for places for our community to go to," support worker Moostoos said.
After a decade of living on the streets, Janvier was set to be housed under the Boyle Streeet Community Services housing program.
A move-in date was scheduled for just three days after he was stabbed. Those who knew him said he was excited at the prospect of cooking his own meals and shopping for personal belongings.
The claim that Janvier died because he was homeless echoed a death inside the Edmonton Remand Centre earlier in the year.
On May 12th, 2011, 59-year-old Barry Raymond Stewart died in a holding cell after choosing to spend a night in jail over paying a $110 fine for failing to provide proof of payment on the LRT.
Justin Caldwell Somers, 25, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Stewart's death. Reports circulated that Somers – an inmate who was supposed to be housed separately due to mental health issues – stomped on Stewart's head 15 times.
"When we put people in prisons for non-payment of fines, it shouldn't result in their deaths," MacEwan University criminologist Bill Pitt said.
Memorial
Around a makeshift memorial, many gathered to pay tribute to Eric Dexter Janvier.
"He may have been homeless. He may not have had a home, but he belonged to a community, he belonged here," support worker Gary Moostoos said – read more »
Flowers, pouches of tobacco, sacred water from Lac Ste. Anne, a photo of the man, a pair of shoes, and a Navajo blanket were slowly added to the bench where Janvier died – see images »
Many held hands as they stood in a circle. Some wept, others prayed. Outsiders might have been surprised by how close these seeming strangers appeared.
"If that isn't community, I don't know what is. It's a deep community," Julian Daly said.
Everyone gathered knew Janvier. Most called him Dexter, and a few called him 'Uncle.' "
He was a fixture around the drop-in centre, usually arriving late in the morning with guitar in hand offering to take requests. When no one was around, he played his own country favourites.
"I'd usually leave my door open, just to hear him," Moostoos said. "Just to have that singing coming. I'd step outside and sit out with them just to be part of the energy that happens when he was around."
Those who knew Janvier from the street were shocked.
"Very sad to hear what happened," one woman said.
Helen Herbert has volunteered at Boyle Street for 23 years. When her uncle died two years ago, it was Dexter's turn to volunteer – as a stand-in.
"He said, 'Well, I'll be your uncle,' " she recalled. "He was my street uncle. Every time he'd see me, he'd say 'Hi, niece. How you doing?' "
The two often shared cigarettes and chatted, sometimes on the very bench where he was later killed.
"During the day when it's warm out, and he just wants to talk to people, he just sits on that bench and talks.
"He'd play guitar in the drop-in for everybody and sit and talk to whoever wanted to talk to him. He was just a fun person to be with."
Herbert said Dexter was tired of being homeless and excited about getting a place of his own.
"He wanted that really bad. He was living out on the streets and he didn't want it anymore," she said.
"He was going to get into an apartment next week and call it home. Him and I were going to go shopping to get furniture and stuff he needed for his house.
"He was happy to get a house of his own so he could come and go, and cook meals for himself, instead of depending on the shelter."
Hebert spoke of her loss.
"He just laid down on the bench to go to sleep and all of a sudden, now he's gone. Just so hard because he's always there.
"His smiling face is no more."
Media temptation
Crime scenes often leave behind graphic reminders of what has taken place.
Before the general public and media are allowed back into such an area,
the evidence is usually cleaned up and washed away.
Still, some evidence remains ...
and the question then becomes, how explicitly do you show it? – read more »
Above, Global Edmonton image
Perhaps taking a page from other recent murder coverage,
CTV Edmonton's Kevin Armstrong took an almost hands-on approach ...
... but held back by only pointing to the place where a man lost his life.
The coverage echoed the actions of another media outlet ...
... when CBC Edmonton's Scott Fralick got down and dirty
reporting the July 15th, 2011, death of Ahmed Ismail-Sheikh.
At Janvier's murder ...
... Fralick sought the safety of numbers when he approached the question.
Stranger still was CTV Edmonton's choice of newspaper edition
when it came to displaying the Quebecor Media's infamous "Deadmonton" issue.
Surely CTV had numerous copies of the Edmonton Sun kicking around the newsroom.
Why then did it go to the bother of securing and displaying
a copy of the near-identical Calgary Sun edition instead?
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