Man killed in Church-Wellesley Village

Police are asking for the public’s help after a 42-year-old man was found dead in Church-Wellesley Village early morning on May 18, 2016.

The man’s body was found near 60 Gloucester St in front of an apartment building in the residential neighbourhood shortly after midnight. According to police, he displayed obvious signs of physical trauma and they believe he was the victim of an assault.

Speaking to CP24 on Wednesday morning, Detective Paul Worden said that the police know the identity of the dead man, but won’t be releasing his name until his next-of-kin have been informed.

“What we do know from the witnesses who were on scene is that there were other parties on the street at the time the deceased was located,” Worden told reporters. “And we would like them to come forward to the police with any information they may have.”

In particular, police are searching for a man who they describe as a “person of interest” who was close to the deceased man at the time of his death. They described the person of interest as a black man, around 6’3 or 6’4 tall, with a thin build and was wearing a red t-shirt and possibly shorts.

“Due to the proximity of him to the deceased, we feel he might have some vital information and we are asking him to come forward to the police,” Worden said.

Police are also asking for anyone who may have seen the dead man in the area between 11:30pm and midnight to come forward.

“He was distinctive looking when he was walking around last night,” Worden said. The man was wearing a fedora and was carrying a sleeping bag with him. He had no known address at the time, but police could not confirm if he was homeless.

Worden said that police don’t know if the killing was targeted, and wouldn’t confirm how he was killed. He did state that no guns were involved.

Police are gathering video footage from the area and a post-mortem will be conducted on the body.

This is the 30th homicide in Toronto this year.

Editor’s note, May 18, 2016: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated this murder happened in 2017. It did not actually happen in the future.