THUNDER BAY - The family of a man who was found dead in a north side apartment earlier this year say they want more answers from police on exactly what happened so they can finally have closure.
Laurie Troutlake said she believes her brother, Leroy Troutlake, was murdered, but police have not laid any charges and the case was labelled as a sudden death investigation. The Thunder Bay Police criminal investigation branch is working with the regional coroner and the investigation is ongoing.
But Troutlake said she is frustrated by the lack of information from police on the investigation into her brother’s death.
“We haven’t received anything,” Troutlake said. “We were waiting for a toxicology report, but we haven’t received anything from the police. They haven’t contacted us for at least over a month now.”
Police were first called to an Athens Drive address on the evening of Mar. 26, 2017, where Troutlake was found deceased. Thunder Bay Police said in a media release issued on Mar. 29, 2017 that preliminary results from a post mortem examination were inconclusive.
Leroy’s sister believes her brother was murdered because of the condition of his body when he was found by a friend.
“When one of his friends found him, he said he looked like he got murdered,” she said. “He was beaten, his neck was swollen and sideways, or twisted or something. There was lots of blood in that room. Like he was trying to get out from that room.”
The lead investigator on the case was not available for comment on the investigation, but a spokesperson with Thunder Bay Police said the investigator will be reaching out to the family when he returns later this month.
For Troutlake and her family, all they want are answers so they can finally allow their brother and son to rest.
“What really happened to him?” she asked. “Who did it? We just want closure so we can let him rest in peace. We can’t let him go right now because we don’t know what happened.”
