THUNDER BAY - Police say the recent death of a 29-year-old British Columbia man at a city motel had ‘drug overtones’.
Thunder Bay Police responded to reports of a person in medical distress on Saturday, May 30, at 10:20 p.m. at the Midtown Inn located at 61 Cumberland Street.
Officers and paramedics performed immediate medical attention but the victim, Paul Winnifred Vivier was pronounced dead later in hospital, police said.
Denis Terry Bernard, 36, was arrested on Sunday and charged with second-degree murder. He remains in custody at the Thunder Bay District Jail.
Police are still in the early stages of their investigation and are hoping more witnesses will come forward to help the investigation move along, Det.-Insp. John Fennell said Tuesday, June 2.
“What we are hoping to be able to do is make sure that any witnesses that have information, as little as they may think it is, it could really be important to us and could really assist the investigation or at least verify the facts that we believe we know," he said.
Bernard and Vivier were known to each other. Police believe neither men were guests of the motel and were visiting.
“There is definitely drug overtones to this investigation,” Fennell said.
A post-mortem for the victim was scheduled to take place on Monday. Due to the early stages of the investigation, police could not comment on the type of weapon potentially used or the types of injuries the victim sustained.
“We are still trying to make sure we confirm and ascertain the right weapon,” Fennell said. “With the forensics side of things they are examining all the evidence and determining whether it had been involved or not.”
Police are also not ruling out the possibility of more charges or more suspects, Fennell added.
“Our appeal for witnesses still stands despite charges being laid, it’s imperative for us to be able to get the right information,” he said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call police at 807-684-1200.
