Murder charge laid
Bryan Townson appears in court on first-degree murder charge in early morning stabbing of Paul Atchison
A 34-year-old man is facing a first-degree murder charge after a stabbing on Stewart St. early Wednesday morning.
The dead man has been identified as Paul Atchison, 43, of 200 Stewart St.
City police say a 911 call came in around 12:30 a.m. reporting an injured man on the sidewalk on Dalhousie Street near his home at Dalhousie and Stewart streets. Police found a man with injuries and paramedics transported him by ambulance to Peterborough Regional Health Centre, where he was pronounced dead.
Police located a man and woman near Bethune and King streets and took them into custody.
Bryan Townson, 34, of Stewart St., was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.
The woman was later released, police said. Police say the accused and Mr. Atchison knew each other, and there are no further suspects.
There was a blood trail from the stabbing scene at Dalhousie and Stewart streets all the way to the corner of King and Bethune streets, police said.
Townson appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in Peterborough briefly on Tuesday afternoon.
His case was put over until Feb. 15, when he will appear in court via video from the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay.
Townson wore white prison garb in court and was handcuffed. One of his index fingers was heavily bandaged, and there were scratches on his face beneath his right eye.
He mouthed words to two people in the courtroom - a man and a woman - during his brief appearance.
On his Facebook page, Townson describes himself as a father of three children who recently split up with his wife.
He states that he works in Peterborough as a forklift operator and is also self-employed.
An autopsy will take place Thursday to determine the victim’s cause of death.
Police say they’ve recovered what is believed to be the weapon used, but offered no further details.
Police blocked off a section of Bethune Street, between King and Dalhousie streets, and a section of Dalhousie, between Bethune and Stewart streets, early Wednesday morning for the investigation.
Investigators spread large blue tarps on sections of Dalhousie Street and on Bethune Street.
Yellow police tape, road block signs and police cruisers blocked off the streets, but streets were reopened to traffic later on Wednesday. Investigators are expected to remain at the scene for the next few days.
It’s the first homicide in the city this year. The city’s last homicide was in November, just a few blocks away on Stewart Street.
Friends remembered Paul Atchison on Wednesday as a “gentleman” who didn’t have much but gave all he had to help others.
Atchison, 43, died early Wednesday morning. He was found injured on the sidewalk near his home on Stewart St. and was taken to paramedics to hospital by ambulance.
He was pronounced dead at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
City police arrested a man and a woman, a few blocks north.
Bryan Townson, 34, of Stewart St., was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.
The woman - who was known to both men - was later released by police.
Atchison was a friend of Patti Peeters, a former city councillor and long-time advocate for the less fortunate.
Atchison was a father and a gentleman who did odd jobs to make ends meet, she said.
It wasn’t easy for him, she said: He struggled with an addiction to alcohol and he sometimes went hungry.
“He had a real shy way about him,” Peeters said. “Never boisterous, arrogant or aggressive – a very understated personality.”
She also said he’d been struck by a car and lived with ongoing pain.
On one occasion, six years ago, Atchison walked into traffic while intoxicated.
reported in 2011 that Atchison was apprehended by city police one night while walking in the middle of George St. against oncoming traffic, just after the downtown bars began closing.
Peeters described alcoholism as a “tremendous challenge” for Atchison – and she said she wishes Peterborough had more addiction treatment programs.
“It’s an illness,” she said. “Why are we not doing something about that?”
She also said she’s concerned about how the needy are sometimes perceived by the public.
“Most of us are one paycheque, one accident, one mishap away from this situation,” she said. “Who are we to judge?”
Peeters said Atchison was generous: Atchison would decline offers of food if he thought others in his group of friends may be hungry, too
Another friend – who wished to remain anonymous – said Atchison once took in a buddy who otherwise would have been homeless.
Atchison didn’t have much, but he still looked out for others.
“It’s certainly a very sad day for his friends and the group that looked after one another,” Peeters said. “I know they’re devastated.”
Peeters said she often saw Atchison downtown, and the last time she saw him – a week ago – she gave him a hug and told him to be good and take care of himself.
“I’ll miss him – and those wonderful blue eyes.”