last link on the left › deadmonton

WARNING

Gerry Oar, 24, died from stab wounds on March 5th, 2011.

Oar was Edmonton's 13th homicide victim of the year.

Kenneth Berard, 42, was charged with second-degree murder and possession of a weapon.

At about 1:00 a.m. March 5th, 2011, the body of a man in his 20s was found by paramedics outside a two-storey rooming house at 10715 96 Street.

The man was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead as the result of foul play.

According to Det. Bill Clark, more than a dozen people were inside the residence at the time and police had taken taken a person of interest, soon found close by, into custody.

Investigators said they weren't looking for anyone else but did not reveal how the suspect was connected to the house.

The two-storey dwelling was well-known to police who had paid frequent disturbance-call visits to the location in the past.

Witnesses said the man had been stabbed in a building that McCauley-area residents described as a crack shack – read more »

Police had to wait for a search warrant to enter the residence to allow detectives and forensics staff to have a look and process the scene – see images »

Det. Dale Johnson later told media that an autopsy had been scheduled for the afternoon of March 7th but that charges could be laid before then.

"We're focussing our attention on one individual," Johnson said, confirming it was the man they had in custody.

"From the people we've interviewed it sounds like alcohol was a factor.

"Groups of people were drinking and something happened to instigate an argument or a fight between people inside."

It was revealed that the man was able to call 911 from his own cellphone despite his injuries. Police and paramedics then responded to what they thought was an assault complaint.

All told about 15 people were been taken in for questioning. Some were tenants while others were visiting when the fight broke out. Some said they had passed out before the trouble began.

The victim's mother had earlier arrived at the scene to bring her son food. When she learned he had died, she broke down and wailed.

"It is sad, yes, but it is the reality of this area," said a man named David who knew the victim and figured he been "stabbed over a $10 piece of crack.

"A lot of these houses are the same," he said. "This house behind you looks nice right now. After 10 o'clock in the evening: crack shack."

Ron Auger told media the victim was a friend named Jerry Sutherland.

"It was something to do with crack. It's a drug thing – I know that's why he got killed ... probably owed $10 or whatever," Auger said.

"When he was sober, he was just the perfect person that you'd ever want to meet."

Well-meaning Auger may have been while describing the perfect person, his identification was a little off.

The next day, police announced that 24-year-old Gerry Oar was the city's latest homicide victim.

Charged with second-degree murder and possession of a weapon was 42-year-old Kenneth Berard.

Berard was known to police who already had six outstanding criminal warrants out for him.

Police said Oar lived in the rooming house and that the men knew each other. It remained unclear what Berard was doing there when Oar died.

Against the backdrop of a modest memorial that had sprung up, Det. Johnson again briefed media.

"Mr. Oar was stabbed and we believe we've recovered the weapon that we believe inflicted that injury. I'm not really prepared to discuss exactly what that weapon was," Johnson said.

"We believe Oar and Berard were closely associated. We believe Berard was a visitor in the home."

Johnson added that downtown beat officers were "very familiar" with the residence but exactly what led up to Oar's death remains unknown.

Investigators said all the witnesses in the home were "to some degree or another all cooperative."

"It was unfortunate that there appeared to be a large amount of alcohol consumed, and that did provide its unique challenges for us," Johnson said.

The detective didn't elaborate on whether Berard's outstanding warrants were violence or drug related, or whether any drugs were found in the home.

One person believed it was something other than drugs or alcohol that was behind the murder.

"It wasn't a fight. It was just ... outrage," Paul Kalek said, adding that some women had been involved who then fled because they became afraid.

Until about a month before he died, the Edmonton-born man lived with his mother.

The second oldest of 11 children with extended family that stretched from Wabasca to Peerless Lake in north-central Alberta, Gerry was missed by many – read more »

Oar's mother said her son was a kind and caring person who often struggled with addicition.

"He was addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was into drinking a lot ... he likes his drink," Edna said, admitting that Gerry had been in trouble with police before.

"When he's around kids he's a lovable brother. He loved his sisters and brothers."

Gerry and his mother were close. She still did his laundry and often brought him food. Edna last spoke to her son the night before he died when he asked her to visit.

"He really wanted us to go down there. 'You promise, Mom? You guys will come down here?' he said.

"But he was drinking and there was lots of people (in the) background."

When she paid her visit the next morning she was greeted by crime scene tape and a police officer who told her Gerry had died.

"Oh, I just broke down," Edna said. "Why did this have to happen? Why did he stab him?

"I miss him so much I can't believe it."

Gerry's step-grandmother said he was also battling a number of emotional problems.

"He lost his grandmother a few years ago, and he became more lost since then," Margaret Oar said.

Gerry was close to his paternal grandmother who helped raise him since birth.

"He became lost in his own little world. He had an addiction problem and he tried to numb himself because he was dealing with so much."

Margaret said Oar was also close to his Cree heritage and culture and loved to make dreamcatchers.

Corrina Oar said one of her cousin's black and brown leather dreamcatchers hung in her kitchen.

Gerry had told her he made it while he was in jail a couple of years back. Corrina didn't remember why he was there.

"He's just the type that would give family members whatever he can give," she said.

Corrina spoke of Gerry's ties with his mother.

"She's taking it hard. They're really close, mother and son.

"They'd be hanging out together and probably having a few drinks together. And he'd be in touch with her every other day, give her a call."

Ron Oar said his cousin was an outgoing man who loved life and wasn't a drug user.

"He never looked for trouble and I don't know why somebody would do this to him," Ron said. "I still can't believe that this has happened to him."

Corrina expressed her concern for where Gerry lived.

"My cousin went to see him three nights ago, a couple nights before this happened and said he should move elsewhere, that it's not a good area.

"They were telling him that and I guess he was saying: 'Well, I'll live here one more month.' "

One of the people who knew Gerry at the house on 96th Street offered a strange irony: he had moved into a room inside it days after her friend, the room's previous tenant, died.

"I was just drinking with him a dew days ago," Perissa Peuichaw said.

"He was a really big boy, and he was very aggressive. He does what it takes to get what he wants."

Oar's death mirrored another rooming-house murder that took place two weeks before – read more »

Oar's murder was also yet another on Edmonton's Avenue of Nations.

The stretch along 107th Avenue between 93rd and 116th Streets has now seen 23 homicides over the past two decades – see Problems persist on the Avenue of Nations.

Media note

While two photographers – one police, the other a reporter – waited for just the right shot, another news outlet couldn't get the shot right – 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.
The Last Link on the Left practices fair presentation and the disclosure of relevant interests.
Mouseover for image credits.

deadmonton 2011 - gerry oar