THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Police Service brought charges in five of the city's eight homicides in 2018, and is still actively investigating the remaining three cases.
As police continue to seek out suspects, Detective Inspector Ryan Hughes says they have identified "people of interest" in two of those ongoing investigations.
In an interview Thursday, Hughes did not disclose further details about the status of any of the three outstanding cases:
- On Aug. 22, 31-year-old Amelia Corrie Sainnawap was found dead in a laneway in the 100 block of Cumming Street.
- On Aug. 31, 59-year-old David Hugh Sweeney was found dead at a residence in the 100 block of North Algoma Street where an assault had been reported
- On Nov. 11, 35-year-old Geoffrey Christopher Corbeil was fatally shot at a residence in the 300 block of South Brodie Street
The city's eight homicides last year may once again have left Thunder Bay with the highest per capita homicide rate among Canada's 34 major population centres.
Thunder Bay topped the list in 2016 as well as in 2017, when the city had seven homicides.
In 2018, Hughes said, police also investigated six cases involving attempted homicide.
He reiterated what police have said previously about the challenges posed by such a high rate of violent crime, a rate fuelled in part, he said, by alcohol and drug abuse, gang activity and the number of marginalized and vulnerable people in the community.
Hughes said homicide investigations are very time-consuming for the Criminal Investigation Branch and its four detectives and 10 constables. They investigate not just murders but other serious crimes including attempted murder, aggravated assault and sexual assault.
Eight homicide investigations in one year plus all the other cases "really spreads our staffing thin, and it takes us a longer time to complete the investigations. And the officers and the support staff are tired out at the end," he said.
Hughes suggested that more resources, not only for the police service but for community agencies the police work with in dealing with the city's social issues, would lead to better outcomes for all.
"There's a lack of money and a lack of staffing. Everyone would like to have more to get rid of these issues that we have in Thunder Bay."
