Police identify man found dead after Edmonton house fire, say he was victim of homicide
The death of a man whose body was found at the site of an Edmonton house fire on the weekend has been ruled a homicide.
In a news release issued Wednesday, police said while an autopsy ruled that the 48-year-old man was the victim of a homicide, the cause of his death is being withheld 'for investigative purposes.'
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Police identified the victim as Michael Jackman.
Firefighters were called to a house fire in the area of 120 Avenue and 77 Street early Sunday morning.
In a news release, police said they were contacted by Edmonton Fire Rescue Services at 2:47 a.m. and emergency crews found a man's body inside. The cause of the fire has not been disclosed.
Anyone with information about the incident or who has camera footage of the area between about 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Sunday is asked to call the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at http://www.p3tips.com/250.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
4 hours ago
- Global News
Lost for over a century, Heiltsuk Nation celebrates return of bentwood box
The Heiltsuk First Nation is celebrating the return of a precious piece of history, lost to their people for more than a century. The nation held a special reunification ceremony for the bentwood box last Friday that coincided with a feast to mark the ratification of their written constitution. 'I was very emotional,' said Christine Smith Martin, CEO of Coastal First Nations, who helped facilitate the return of the box from an American family to the Heiltsuk Nation. 2:03 Heiltsuk Nation ratifies new written constitution through celebratory feast 'We really want to tell art collectors or whoever may have boxes similar to this, the right thing to do is to bring it home, to make sure those boxes make it home if they can because its an important piece for us, there' s a lot of teachings on that box, there's a lot of things artists might not have seen yet.'' Story continues below advertisement Bentwood boxes were specialized, watertight containers fabricated from a single piece of cedar wood that has been steamed and curved, then fastened shut with wooden pegs. Elroy white, an archeologist, hereditary chief and elected councillor with the Heiltsuk, said they were used to carry trade goods up and down the coast, as well as for the storage of important items like instruments or regalia. They were also used to store and prepare food. He said the Heiltsuk became well known for their skill in crafting the boxes in the 1860s, after their population was decimated by smallpox and came together in a single community. Ethnographers who visited the community documented them and spread the word, and soon collectors and academics from around the world began seeking them out. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'That was their premise, that they were going to preserve this cultural way of these First Nations, they were called Indians back then,' he said. 'They were either sold or they were coerced from the owners.' The provenance of this particular box is unknown, Elwood said, save that it passed through collections and galleries before being purchased in Vancouver in 2020. He believes it was made some time in the 1880s, but said that when items pass through galleries their back history is typically not shared, and information like the artist who made them is lost. Story continues below advertisement That's when Janet and Dave Deisley, a couple from Salt Lake City, Utah, purchased it at the Douglas Reynolds Gallery on Granville Street. 2:11 Heiltsuk Nation celebrates 'powerful, emotional' return of historic chief's seat 'After Dave bought the box we had we had it in our home for a couple of years,' Janet Deisley told Global News. But the item never felt right in the couple's collection, and they decided to return it — free of charge — reaching out to Coastal First Nations for help in connecting it to the Heiltsuk. 'The community in which those artifacts were created is where they belong from a spiritual sense,' Dave Diesley said. 'I would imagine they felt what we felt when we had it in our office for that short time. You can feel. It's like a piece of an ancestor wanting to come home … you look at it and you see that history in there,' Martin said. Story continues below advertisement 'I would imagine they felt that yearning, because it's not just a box, there are spirits that are attached to it, there are ancestors that are attached to that.' Coastal First Nations accepted the box, but it stayed in their office for some time as they worked to arrange an appropriate return. White came to Vancouver to authenticate the box and work on the best way and time to get it home safely. 'I knew it would have no back history, but the important part was …. it was still important to the Heiltsuk,' he said. 'Elroy came down and did some ceremony in our office, and we had a talk to the box and let them know they are going home now. It's been a long journey as you can imagine, since the 1800s, since this box has been away from their territory.' 2:11 Heiltsuk Nation hold constitution ratification ceremony Last week, the box was honoured in the Heiltsuk big house in Bella Bella as a part of the constitution ceremonies, and members had the opportunity to get up close and see a piece of their lost history. Story continues below advertisement 'It was so heartfelt to see that, seeing the artists looking at it and sort of pointing out different things,' Martin said. For White, it is just one step in the ongoing process to repatriate Heiltsuk culture that was taken from the community and now resides in museums, galleries and private collections around the world. The nation has spent decades building a database of items and has identified 34 institutions around the world that house more than 1,000 Heiltsuk items. They've repatriated four items since 2022, including a historic chief's seat that was returned to the community last summer. It's work that White intends to continue, and that Martin hopes will have more success. 'I hope that we have many more of these boxes,' she said.
Global News
5 hours ago
- Global News
Calgary woman loses $800k in romance scam: ‘I have nothing left'
Barbara Grant was one of many Canadians who found themsleves lonely during the pandemic. For the first time in her life, she set out to find a connection on an online dating site. That's when she met Michael Janda. 'We started talking… he said, 'You are gorgeous, I want to be with you,'' Grant said. The two quickly formed a bond. Janda's profile said he worked in the same oil and gas industry where she had built a successful career. As the weeks went by, they spoke about plans of marriage and buying a home together in Victoria, B.C. Then came the requests that preyed on her emotions. 'He told me he was caught in Doha, Qatar, carrying $1.5 million in cash,' she said, 'And police put him in jail.' Story continues below advertisement The two continued to communicate on LinkedIn after moving away from the dating site where they first connected. Over a period of nearly a year, Grant sent Janda money in several bank transfers — first to a trucking company in Ontario, then an individual in the U.S. Then one day in November, Grant realized her mistake — Janda wasn't who he said he was. 'He contacted me through LinkedIn and said, 'I can't come to Calgary any more, they've locked me up again.' He was coming to the airport and I was going to pick him up. 'I then realized it was a scam.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I then realized it was a scam." Grant lost $800,000 CAD — her life's savings. 'I have nothing left, except what's in my (Registered Retirement Income Fund). I'm devastated by it… absolutely devastated.' 4:24 Spotting romance scams Falling into a deep depression, Grant was checked into a mental health unit on multiple occasions in Calgary. She contemplated ending her own life. Story continues below advertisement Then she took action, hiring a B.C.-based private investigator to look into her case. Six months later, Denis Gagnon had compiled a 400-page report. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It's basically a daily event,' Gagnon said, explaining his work. Gangon was able to trace the transfers Grant sent. He says those recipients are commonly referred to as 'mules.' 'The money that's being transferred goes through a mule and goes to a different account. That person takes a percentage and then sends it overseas.' But who was ultimately behind it all is still a mystery. The lengthy report was then forwarded on to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Interests, which earlier this week ruled in favour of Grant's bank, TD. 'I want TD Canada Trust to know about what happened to me… it has ruined my life,' Grant said. 'The bank is not responsible, not accountable… they have a fiduciary responsibility to me to give me some of my money back.' 2:36 Matchmaker warns of new, advanced romance scams In 2024, TD faced fines on both sides of the Canada/U.S. border — first in May, when Fintrac fined the bank $9.2 million for a range of failures including not submitting suspicious transaction reports when there was reasonable grounds to require it to do so, not assessing and documenting money laundering/terrorist activity financing risks and for the bank not taking prescribed special measures for high risk. Story continues below advertisement CIBC and RBC were also fined similar amounts. But that number was then dwarfed months later in the United States, when TD became the largest bank in U.S. history to plead guilty to violating a federal law aimed at preventing money laundering, and agreed to pay over $3 billion in penalties to resolve the charges. In that case, TD said its program was 'insufficient to effectively monitor, detect, report, and respond to suspicious activity' and work is underway to remedy the deficiencies. 3:52 TD Bank fined $3B U.S. in money-laundering case Global News asked TD officials for a statement on improvements to that program and further protections for its clients, but did not hear back by deadline. Grant says she's looking into a debt consolidation loan in order to wipe her hands clean from a years-long ordeal that has altered her world. Story continues below advertisement But she also wants her story to serve as a warning to others — if it can happen to this savvy, successful 75-year-old, it can happen to anyone. 'When someone comes forward and is willing to talk about what happened, we really should be commending them,' explained Wes Lafortune of the Better Business Bureau of Alberta. Lafortune estimates only five per cent of these type of crimes are ultimately reported and awareness can make a huge difference. 'It's really important to report these crimes to police, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Better Business Bureau… so these organizations can determine what sort of resources can be put into this.' Gagnon says it will take much more than status quo to turn the tide on this situation. Story continues below advertisement 'I think Canada has become a bit of a target for fraudsters. In the United States, I believe the penalties are much more severe. Canada is (still working through that),' Gagnon explained. 'Most people don't break into a house now through the door. They come in through your phone — or the screen you're looking at.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Most people don't break into a house now through the door. They come in through your phone — or the screen you're looking at." Grant was ready to spend her golden years travelling, downsizing her home and spending time with her children. Now at 75, she says she'll likely return to work as a consultant in the fall. She also sells her own paintings and dances. She's quite the catch — but you won't find her on any dating sites. 'No. No. I have some good friends, that's it, that's all,' she said.
Global News
5 hours ago
- Global News
Const. Daniel Woodall School honours 10th anniversary of EPS officer's death
At Constable Daniel Woodall School, a ceremony was held Friday honoured the life and legacy of the Edmonton Police Service officer, 10 years after he made the ultimate sacrifice. Dan Woodall was killed in the line of duty on June 8, 2015 in west Edmonton, where he and his fellow members of the hate crimes unit were attempting to make an arrest at a home in Callingwood. The 35-year-old officer was shot through the door of a home. Another officer, a southwest division patrol member, was shot in the lower back but survived. 'I was working that day, and I remember quite vividly responding to the event. It's hard to believe sometimes…it's already been 10 years, but it feels like it was just yesterday,' Deputy Chief Nicole Chapdelaine said. Const. Daniel Woodall, of the EPS Hate Crimes Unit, poses in this undated handout photo. In the years since, Woodall has been honoured at two locations in Edmonton: at a park in the southwest Terwillegar area, where he lived with his wife and two young sons, and also on the other side of Anthony Henday Drive. Story continues below advertisement There, in the Windermere area, sits Constable Daniel Woodall School, which is clad in blue, yellow and black siding that mirrors the colours of the Edmonton Police Service. View image in full screen Const. Daniel Woodall School, named after the last Edmonton Police Service officer who died in the line of duty in 2015, strung blue ribbons and changed their school sign in solidarity for Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan, who were killed on the job Thursday, March 16, 2023. Global News The school opened in 2017 and every year students take the time to remember Woodall and his service to the community. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I think anytime a school is named after someone, it is our job, it's our responsibility, to ensure that students know why it was named after them and what that person embodies, and then to learn from that,' principal Leanne Moncrieff said. During the ceremony students talked about Woodall's life, shared poetry and music. They also heard from his friends and colleagues. 'This school is going to continue to have a legacy of students who are going to enter the community and make a difference, whatever they choose to do,' Chapdelaine said. Story continues below advertisement The school also presented its inaugural Legacy Award to a Grade 6 student who exemplifies Woodall's core values of safety, diversity, community and belonging. 'This award is really gonna help me remember Constable Daniel Woodall and my elementary years, when I go into middle school next year, and it's going to help keep on the legacy,' Legacy Award winner Maizie Stewart said. View image in full screen Maple tree planted in front of Constable Daniel Woodall School. Global News As a lasting symbol of Woodall's roots in the community, a maple tree will also be planted in front of the school. 'These things will continue to exist for people to have moments when they need them to remember Dan, remember the sacrifice he made on behalf of the community,' Chapdelaine said.
