Family pleads for leads two years after slaying
Witnesses in suspect’s vehicle should come forward: police
On May 27, 2016, Gherezghiher Yemane, 63, was shot to death while out on his daily evening stroll. Two years later, no charges have been laid in relation to the killing, and police say it was a tragic case of mistaken identity.
“We’re calling to all who have any information, please come forward,” daughter Winta Berhane, 24, pleaded Friday, mere steps from where her father was killed in his northeast Edmonton neighbourhood.
“Please just tell someone something.”
Berhane said her family will match the up to $40,000 reward already offered by the Edmonton Police Service for any information leading to an arrest.
“The violence that occurred in this case is beyond comprehension,” said homicide unit Staff Sgt. Bill Clark. “To an absolutely innocent man who could be really any one of us, just out for an evening walk.”
Clark said the killer drove a black Dodge Charger before exiting the vehicle and shooting Yemane. Police know there were multiple witnesses in the car whose testimony is needed to lay charges.
“This is a tragic event and we truly need those people in that vehicle to reconsider their positions,” Clark said.
“The recurring message that we’ve always heard is that this is not only a loss for you, as well as your family, but it’s a loss for the community,” said Berhane, as her mother and Yemane’s wife, Abeba Ghebregzabhir, stood nearby.
In a prepared statement read by Berhane, Ghebregzabhir said she felt robbed of her husband and best friend.
Yemane was known for his generosity, said Berhane, who told stories of a man willing to buy groceries for a hungry family or give a coat for a co-worker who could not afford one.
“Living in a middle-class neighbourhood ... you think that you would get a certain type of security and safety,” Berhane said.