Murder at the Roadhouse
A family night out ended with a 44-year-old father beaten to death. But what triggered the fatal attack – and who was the killer?
Art Rozendal enjoyed his Friday nights out. After a long week fixing heavy machinery at the local steelworks, the father of two often headed to O’grady’s pub to enjoy a drink and a dance. It was only five minutes’ walk from his home in the Bruce Park area of Hamilton, Ontario.
On 14 January 2005, Art set out with his beloved wife Brenda, 44, and son Neil, 18. They were meeting friends at O’grady’s.
Art drank beer and challenged Neil to a game of pool. Three men were playing a noisy game at the adjacent table. It was cramped, but they all took turns to play their shots. Meanwhile, Brenda stepped on the dance floor.
She knew Art wouldn’t be far behind. Despite his hard-hat job, he was a romantic who wrote her poems, danced with her in the rain. Their pool game over, Neil went home to persuade his brother to join the family. Telling his wife he’d be with her for a dance in a few moments, Art went to the bathroom. It was down the hall, hidden from the rest of the bar. He was gone for a while. Brenda began to wonder if he was OK. Minutes later, Art was discovered sprawled motionless on the floor outside the bathroom. He’d been the victim of a violent, frenzied attack. Frantically, Brenda attempted CPR on her husband. But it was too late. The gentle man without an enemy in the world was dead. With no apparent motive for the fatal attack, the case was assigned to Hamilton’s homicide unit. Forensic detective Annette Huys immediately began to unravel what happened in those fatal minutes. Did Art know his attacker? Or was he the victim of a random, unprovoked assault? Within hours, detectives had interviewed an eyewitness. He’d seen Art on the ground in the hidden hallway being kicked by two men, while a third looked on. And one of the attackers was wearing a distinctive metal tooth grill, a crucial detail. Other eyewitnesses also confirmed the presence of three young men in the bar, playing pool next to Art and his son. Were they the murderers?
Later at the morgue, the pathologist noticed odd bruises on Art’s body. X-rays revealed he’d been severely beaten, but Det. Huys was puzzled by the irregular injuries. Returning to the crime scene to search for clues, she found a broken chain, and a dog tag bearing the name ‘Daymein P’.
That night, 23-year-old Kyro Sparks, a reported gang member from nearby Kitchener, Waterloo, was brought into custody after being spotted near the scene of the attack. He was wearing a metal dental grill. Sparks refused to cooperate, but police were certain they had at least one of the perpetrators. Yet none of the fingerprints from the crime scene matched those of Sparks.
Frustrated at the lack of DNA evidence, the police asked the family to make a TV appeal. An eyewitness had seen Sparks on the crucial day at a supermarket just blocks away from O’grady’s. CCTV later confirmed this. With him was fellow gang member Cory Mcleod. He’d previously been ruled out because he was meant to be in jail for another crime – the perfect alibi. Detectives then learned Cory was also known as ‘Daymein P’ – the same name found on the dog tag at the crime scene. So Cory had been at large. He turned himself into police custody the day after the murder.
Further investigation revealed
Being in jail seemed like the perfect alibi for one attacker
Sparks’ and Mcleod’s girlfriends lived in an apartment just 500m from O’grady’s. Searching rubbish bags outside, detectives found a pair of shoes. The tread pattern matched the bruises on Art’s back .
DNA results concluded the dog tag belonged to Mcleod. And traces of Art’s DNA were found on the broken chain, suggesting the father had pulled it off during the desperate struggle.
Finally, DNA tests from the shoe came back with Cory Mcleod as an exact match.
Both men were charged with second-degree murder. Yet where was the motive? A later tip off came from an affiliate in Mcleod’s gang. Art, seeing the men arguing in the bathroom, tried to calm the situation by placing an arm on Sparks. But this innocent gesture was seen as a sign of disrespect, which enraged Sparks and Mcleod.
Both were sentenced to 11 years for manslaughter. Watch the full story of the Roadhouse Murder unfold on
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