Gay community mourns slain DJ
Elie had ‘passion for music and bringing our communities together’
Shock waves are rippling through Toronto’s gay community as word spreads about the murder of a well-known and well-liked local DJ.
Peter Elie, known as DJ Blue Peter, held down the decks for more than 20 years at several bars and clubs in the Church-Wellesley area, as well as abroad.
For more than two decades, scores of partiers flocked to his legendary Sunday night drag show party at Woody’s on Church. People started dropping off flowers and mementos on the bar’s front steps late Thursday afternoon once Elie was identified as Toronto’s latest homicide victim.
“(Peter’s death) was really senseless. He was the sweetest. He always saw the good in people,” said bar manager Dean Odorico, who also called 52year-old Elie a good friend. “It’s absolutely tragic.”
Odorico said lots of calls and messages were coming in to Woody’s from people devastated by Elie’s death.
“All the performers are heartbroken. He was so patient with them, so welcoming,” said Odorico, who said he suspects, and hopes, his dear friend was just “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
In addition to being a DJ, Odorico said Elie was a skilled video producer who excelled in working with sound, lighting and special effects. He said Elie was also good at organizing and co-ordinating events and performances.
“I would expect, under normal conditions, lots of people would gather at Woody’s and other bars in the Gay Village to mourn his death,” he said.
The 519, an organization dedicated to advocacy for LGBTQ communities, posted a statement on Facebook Thursday.
“The 519 grieves with our Church Street community this evening after learning of the loss of Peter Elie. DJ Blue Peter was the heart and soul of many of our gathering spaces for over 20 years, where he shared his passion for music and bringing our communities together. As a community, we will remember the vibrance he brought to The Village over the years.”
In an email, Coun. Kristyn
Wong-Tam said she spoke to several community members Thursday evening about the tragic loss and said everyone is very shocked. “This loss is hard especially since our community is already going through such difficulties,” she wrote, adding people are a bit reluctant to speak because his death has been deemed a murder.
Shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday, Toronto police responded to a call for a small fire in the laundry room of an apartment building near Balliol and Yonge streets, south of Davisville Avenue. They found Elie’s lifeless body with obvious signs of trauma. The homicide squad was called in.
Late Thursday morning, police released images of a person of interest — a man wearing a dark jacket with red-and-black checkered pyjamas.