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Rukmani Prasad, 60, was found dead in a house fire on December 31st, 2011.

Prasad was Edmonton's 48th homicide victim of the year.

Suendra Prasad, 63, was reported dead on February 27th, 2012.

On March 6th, 2012, police determined the case to be a homicide.

husband succumbs to injuries | death declared homicide

When homicide detectives got word of a suspicious death at a house fire less than 12 hours before year's end, they already had one case on the go. Before the day and year was out, a third case was added to their work load.

Police first got a call at about 2:40 a.m. on December 31st, 2011, to check on the welfare of a man in a Mill Woods home. Officers found the body 35-year-old Jamie Francis Vickers inside.

Later, at about 3:24 p.m., officers were dispatched to a condominium building on Jasper Avenue where they found most of the dismembered body of 27-year-old Misty Lynn Ward in an overflowing bath tub inside a suite after a maintenance man had been called about a leak.

Charges were later laid in both those cases, but the death of 60-year-old Rukmani Prasad may take some time to determine if foul play was involved.

At about 12:06 p.m. on December 31st, five units of Edmonton Fire Rescue responded to a house fire at 14716 32 Street.

According to witnesses, when firefighters arrived they found a man with singed pajamas lying on the driveway. Through neighbours, responders learned that a woman was inside the burning home.

"They found a male patient on the driveway with severe burns. He was treated on scene," district chief John Bower said.

The man was transported by ambulance to the University of Alberta's burn unit.

"Crews then went into the house because there was a report from bystanders and neighbours that there was possibly a female inside," Bower said.

"Firefighters entered the house. They encountered heavy smoke and they found a fire in an upstairs bedroom where they found a female in her sixties.

"They pulled the female out. Unfortunately, despite valiant efforts by fire crews and EMS, the female succumbed to her injuries.

"The fire was contained to the upstairs bedroom. The firefighters quickly got the fire under control and out.

"On behalf of Edmonton Fire Rescue we'd like to express our deep condolences to the family of the victims," Bower said.

The fire was under control by 12:24 p.m. Despite little visible damage on the outside of the home, damage costs were estimated at $100,000.

Something of interest at the scene prompted firefighters to ask police to bring in the arson and homicide units.

"A 60-year-old woman died in the fire and a male was taken to hospital where he remains in critical condition," police later said in a news release, terming the woman's death suspicious.

"Homicide section is the lead on this investigation."

That police had an interest in the case explained why the medical examiner's van showed up to remove a body from under a black tent.

Neighbours on 32nd Street were first alerted to the fire after a burned man bailed out of the home pleading for help – read more »

"There was a man who came out of the house with his pajamas singed to the side of him," Cindy Turner said.

A woman driving by saw the man on the driveway and black smoke pouring out the side of the house.

"There was a guy standing out in the front yard, he was burned pretty bad," her husband said. "She said it looked like his pants were melted."

The man said his wife then heard screams coming from inside the house. She attempted to enter the home, using her cell phone as a flashlight.

"She tried to get to the back of the house. Because of all the smoke, she couldn't get in," he said.

Next door neighbour Daniel Starchuk said the man showed up "severely burned" and asked him to call 911.

With his brother in tow, Starchuk quickly ran into the burning house to see what they could do.

"We took a peek and we could just see smoke," he said.

"I keep thinking about hearing her scream when we opened the door ... we just heard the sad sounds of her screaming."

Outside, the pajama-clad man urged Starchuk to do something to save his wife.

"But you can't really risk your life if you aren't a trained professional."

Starchuck said the man appeared to be in shock and later stopped answering questions.

He said his neighbours were originally from Fiji. Despite living side-by-side for several years, Starchuck had rarely seen the woman who lived there.

Word of the tragedy soon reached family.

A young man and woman showed up, thought to be the couple's children, and were seen being comforted by a victims services worker.

The burned man's brother arrived, reporting that his family was in shock.

"We don't know what to say or to think. We don't know what happened yet, how the fire started," Vijendra Prasad said.

"This thing very difficult as this everything happened all of a sudden."

Prasad related what he knew of how his brother was faring.

"They say he is in rough condition but how rough we don't know. He opened his eyes and he say it hurts. All the pains, that's what he said."

Prasad was overcome with grief when he spoke of his sister-in-law.

"She's a very nice lady, she ... she was just like a second mom."

He then went on to describe the couple.

"The wife and husband both are happy and it doesn't look like there was any trouble – that's what the kids were saying yesterday.

"He was in a good mood all the time," Prasad said of his brother.

"There was no trouble as far as I know but I don't know what's going inside the house, right?"

Prasad said the couple had a son and a daughter, both in their early 30s. The daughter was at work when the fire started, having left just two hours before.

It fell to Prasad to notify relatives, including his 82-year-old mother.

Prasad noted his sister-in-law didn't have family in Edmonton, adding he had rarely spoken her and didn't even know how to spell her name.

"I feel really sad," he said. "I just want to find out what happened."

Despite the holiday, police held a news conference on New Year's Day. With three cases on the go, homicide detectives were likely prompted to ease the fears of citizens.

"Our arson unit was called in to due to the fire death," homicide section Staff Sgt. Bill Clark, outlining the case.

"There are some indications the death is suspicious. We are right now treating it as a criminal death and homicide section is leading that investigation.

"They removed her from the house and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Appears to have died in the fire.

"The fire appears to be confined to one room in that house. At the time of the fire there were only two people in the house.

"It is her husband who is in hospital," Clark said. "He's in the IC unit, in the burn unit at the U of A hospital, and we don't know.

"They're doing their best. But with 60 per cent burns ... that's quite substantial."

Police said they had yet to speak to the man. The hospital's Intensive Care burn unit listed him in critical condition. It was later learned he had been placed in a medically-induced coma.

"We are treating this as a criminal investigation at this time, and until we have an autopsy it will be deemed suspicious," Clark said.

With the sudden weekend work load, it wasn't known when an autopsy would take place.

"Due to the number of incidents in the last little while, we've had some scheduling issues," Acting Staff Sgt. Dan Collins said.

If deemed a homicide, Clark said it would be added to 2011's tally.

Clark also told reporters that investigators had an idea of what caused the fire but he wouldn't release that information.

"That is one of the reasons homicide is leading the investigation," he said.

Police indicated they weren't looking for any suspects in connection with the matter.

Meanwhile, back at the house in the Kirkness neighbourhood, an active crime scene investigation was underway – see images »

On January 3rd, 2012, police announced that an autopsy performed on the woman proved inconclusive and that they had to wait for toxicology testing to be done before they could determine the course of their investigation.

It was the second time in just days that a suspicious death case was subject a long wait.

On December 27th, the body of 40-year-old Michael Allen Haley was found in an Inglewood apartment suite. His cause of death also had yet to be determined as toxicology tests usually take weeks to months to complete.

Police said the name of the woman would not be released as homicide detectives were still in the process of investigating the matter.

However, family of the woman identified her to media as 60-year-old Rukmani Prasad and that her husband, 63-year-old Suendra Prasad, was the man taken to hospital – read more »

Suendra and Rukmani Prasad, both originally from Fiji, had been married for about 40 years and moved into the Kirkness neighbourhood either three or eight years ago [sources differ].

The couple had come to Canada in the 1970s and their two children were born in Edmonton.

"There's was no trouble, nothing like that. They were nice and quiet, living nicely," Suendra's brother, Vijendra, said.

"There was no trouble as far as I know but I don't know what's going inside the house, right?"

Suendra was retired but recently worked part-time for Vijendra’s renovations company, with his brother picking him up daily.

Rukmani also worked part-time but Vijendra didn't know where. He had earlier admitted he didn't know how to spell his sister-in-law's name.

Suendra had four brothers and six sisters, most of them living in Edmonton. Rukmani had no family in Canada apart from the couple's son and a daughter, both in their early 30s. The daughter, who lived in the home, had gone to work about two hours before the fire started.

Vijendra described the couple as happy. "He was nice to me," he said. "Everything was good."

Vijendra said the couple's children had celebrated Christmas at the house and had told him there didn't appear to be any trouble between the two.

"They were happy on Christmas Day."

The Edmonton Journal was able to contact Rukmani's family in Fiji. Understandably, they were devastated after hearing the news.

"We are very upset here in Fiji after the shocking and heartbreaking news," Ravinesh Kumar, Prasad's nephew, said by email.

Rukmani left behind a brother and two sisters in Fiji, Kumar said. "They are very disturbed and only crying since they heard about this."

Madan Kumar, Prasad's younger brother, said that relatives and friends from the South Pacific islands were "shocked with the news."

"It's really bad. Everyone is in shock," Madan said. It was Rukmani's son who had notified family in Fiji.

"I thought he called me to say happy New Year and then he started crying ... "

"When they told me about that, I thought it was the middle of the night, they were sleeping and there was a house fire and they both were in the house," Kumar said.

"Then I found out it was in the midday. How could you be sleeping in the house and it caught fire in the midday?"

Madan also had another question – the same one likely on the minds of police.

"How come the fire was in only one room and one of them could escape and the other one couldn't?"

Madan said he last spoke with his sister on Christmas Eve. She and her husband, who he identified as Surendra, had visited Fiji together in September 2011.

"She was with me for about two weeks here ... for my daughter's wedding," he said. "She did not tell me anything about any problems. They were very happy here when they came here, but they had problems years ago."

Rukhmani's friends and relatives in Australia and around the Fiji Islands were organising a gathering and prayer service in her honour. Hundreds were expected to attend.

Raymond Naidu, the former president of the temple Rukmani attended in Edmonton, said she was involved in the community.

"She was a very nice lady," he said. "And the husband and wife, since I knew them, they were happily married and interested in the community, in the temple."

A Fijian community leader, who asked not to be named, said Rukmani was a "happy woman."

"The community is feeling really upset," he said, adding it was just the latest incident of violence they had faced.

"We had a shooting in our community recently as well."

The man said the pair appeared happy, but admitted the couple were working through some marital problems.

"They had some problems inside their house," he said. "Never in front of me, but I knew there was fighting."

The leader noted that the couple's involvement in the community had waned in the past year, only rarely attending temple.

On January 6th, the Edmonton Fijian community held a memorial for Rukmani Prasad, coinciding with one taking place in her home country.

On January 26th, 2012, family said Suendra Prasad remained in the University of Alberta Hospital Intensive Care burn unit but was showing signs of improvement.

Prasad was still listed in critical condition in a medically-induced coma and doctors expected the man to remain in hospital for up to nine months.

Meanwhile, police continued to wait for toxicology test results to determine how Rukmani Prasad died and if foul play was involved.

Husband succumbs to injuries

On February 27th, 2012, came word that 63-year-old Suendra Prasad, Rukmani's husband, had died in hospital two days previously.

The man's funeral took place on March 1st.

Police said the matter was still considered suspicious and remained under investigation by homicide detectives.

Death declared homicide

On March 6th, 2012, police declared the death of 60-year-old Rukmani Prasad a homicide.

The determination was made by the medical examiner in conjunction with work done by the police homicide section and arson units and Edmonton Fire Rescue investigators.

"It was determined that Rukmani Prasad died of a fire that was intentionally set with the use of an accelerant in her bedroom," Det. Sharon Bach said at a media availabilty.

"It took us a while, we had to collect certain evidence, obtain information from the crime lab. After that was all put together we were able to determine it was a homicide."

Investigators also knew what was used to ignite the fire.

"We had an area of origin, and in the area of origin we had taken some samples and sent them off to the RCMP forensics lab and we waited for results," fire captain Joe Koreman said.

"It took just under two months to get the results back and they indicated the presence of gasoline. We can't predict how much was used there. It's just something that we don't know," he said.

Police would only say that Prasad's death came as a result of the fire.

"We won't be laying charges," Staff Sgt Bill Clark said. "It would have been a first-degree murder charge, no doubt."

Further details weren't provided.

"We're not going to go into motive or all the evidence because the case is now closed. We're just going to be hurting the family if we go into all those type of details.

"The family is aware of it, they've been very cooperative with us and we never had a chance to interview the husband because he was in no shape to be interviewed at any time since the time of the fire," Clark said.

Bach reported that there was no evidence to indicate Rukmani had been harmed or was restrained prior to the fire and that toxicology tests came back negative.

The medical examiner ruled Surendra Parsad's death to be an accident.

"Mr. Prasad's death, after the M.E. conducted an autopsy on the 27th of February, declared to be accidental. So it is a murder but not a suicide," Det. Bach clarified.

"The EPS homicide unit has declared Rukmani Prasad's death as the 48th homicide for 2011."

The statement confounded local crime watchers: while the death was declared a murder in 2012, it was added to the previous year's count. In 2011, Edmonton police had to include deaths from 2009 and 2010 as part of that year's annual total in order to comply with Statistics Canada practices.

Clark explained it was because Rukmani's death was considered suspicious almost immediately after the investigation was launched.

"We suspected on the day it was a homicide, but we can't come out and say that without solid evidence," he said.

"It was only last week that the medical examiner was able to determine the manner of death was homicide based on the evidence that we brought them and the findings from the toxicology.

"She died in 2011. It will be labelled a 2011 death and that's the way we'll be moving forward from this day on as far as our reporting," Clark said, adding that police would report the death as a 2012 homicide to Statistics Canada.

The addition to 2011's toll was not totally unexpected. At a New Year's Day news conference, Clark said if Prasad's death was found to be a homicide it would be added to the previous year's tally.

Nevertheless, the arbitrary accounting method caught the notice of several who posted their observations on twitter when the death was first announced as a homicide – read more »

In addition, one person thought police not laying charges was ...

... but that's how the official Edmonton police news release read (it can be seen here »)

It wasn't the first time police had not laid charges in such a situation.

Once homicide detectives complete an investigation, their files are turned over the Crown prosecutor's office for review. A decision is then made whether to lay charges and proceed with a trial – read more »

In keeping with established practice, the Crown must satisfy at least two elements: that there would be a reasonable likelihood of conviction and whether a prosecution was in the public interest.

The Crown may also elect to stay the laying of charges, effectively giving police a year to uncover new evidence.

Several recent homicide investigations illustrate the breadth of possible outcomes.

In August 2007, 29-year-old Robin Timothy Gillman was found dead of a broken neck – the result of consensual horseplay between brothers under a bridge in Edmonton's river valley. No charges were laid in the matter.

In some cases, murder victims have been determined to be the aggressor in confrontations that resulted in death.

In March 2008, 23-year-old Daniel Raymond McKenzie was fatally stabbed during a drug deal that went bad. Investigators said that McKenzie was killed when two other people were forced to act in self defence.

The same went for the case of Yusuf Abdirahim. In May 2011, the 20-year-old Somali-Canadian was beaten during an altercation over a vehicle.

Despite conflicting witness accounts, police seemed to side with the people responsible for Abdirahim's death. In conjunction with the Crown's office, no charges were laid on the basis of likelihood of conviction.

Police have also had to resolve cases in which the victim and perpetrator both perished during an act of murder.

In August 2011, an explosion in a seniors complex resulted in the death of 83-year-old Anna Fedorio. 64-year-old Ken Kopiak, described by friends as a suicidal man with a background in military explosives, was also found dead at the scene. Police later ruled Fedorio's death a homicide.

In a similar case in June 2010, a house explosion in the Lago Lindo neighbourhood killed 47-year-old Jeanne Cathleen Heard along with two others.

Police determined that Dwayne Richard Poirier, 46, who also died in the blast, was responsible for the three deaths.

Like the Prasad case, no charges were laid in either the Fedorio case or the Lago Lindo explosion.

Media note

During coverage of the Kirkness neighbourhood house fire and the resulting death of Rukmani Prasad, one news outlet described the burns suffered by a man at the scene with an incredible degree of accuracy – 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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