2,000-km manhunt ends for accused killer
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — An Ontario man accused of killing his sevenyear-old stepson and badly injuring a banker with whom he’d once had professional dealings fled 2,000 kilometres over four days before being arrested, police said Wednesday.
Niagara regional Police Chief Jeff McGuire said the nationwide manhunt for Justin Kuijer, 43, which began in St. Catharines, Ont., came to a peaceful end in the parking lot of a Walmart in Kenora, Ont., on Tuesday afternoon.
A member of the public who had heard of the search for Kuijer recognized the van in which the man allegedly fled. Six provincial police officers responded to the tip and arrested the former roofing company owner without incident, McGuire said.
Kuijer had been the subject of a Canada-wide warrant on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of his stepson, Nathan Dumas. But McGuire said the man will in fact be charged with firstdegree murder in the boy’s death, as well as attempted murder in the attack on the bank employee.
McGuire credited steady media exposure and public vigilance for Kuijer’s arrest, saying the end of the manhunt can help a devastated community begin to heal.
“It’s because of those efforts that Kuijer is in custody today, and the community is safer than it was before his arrest yesterday,” he said at a press conference.
Outside a St. Catharines sandwich shop owned by Nathan’s grandparents, flowers and stuffed animals formed a makeshift memorial for the slain boy.
Residents walking by expressed rage at the attacks and relief that a suspect had been caught.
Ken Chipman, who was walking his dog near the school Nathan attended a short drive away, said news of the attacks had left him “really upset.”
“I thought it was horrible,” he said, adding he was glad the search for Kuijer was over.
McGuire provided few new details on Kuijer’s alleged crimes or on the massive manhunt, citing the need to keep certain details confidential. But he did provide insight on how police began their investigation.
Police were first summoned to a RBC branch in St. Catharines on Friday morning after reports of an assault. Officers found an employee suffering from stab wounds, he said.
McGuire confirmed that the woman, who has not been named, had worked with Kuijer on financial matters in the past.
Witnesses reported seeing Kuijer fleeing the scene in a dark grey van, which enabled police to connect the attack at the bank to another call they were fielding at essentially the same time, he said.
Across town, in a home above the family’s sandwich shop, police said a relative discovered that Nathan had been critically injured.
The boy was rushed to hospital with undisclosed injuries and died the next morning. Police learned that the van in which Kuijer allegedly fled the bank was registered to the address where Nathan was found.
A bail hearing is scheduled for Kuijer today.