Two men charged in death of P.A. man

Men were suspects eight months ago

After being taken into custody and then released, two men in Prince Albert have been charged eight months later with manslaughter in the death of Damian Ballantyne.

Christian Charles, 21, and Austin Janvier, 23, were both arrested Wednesday in relation to the March 22 death of Ballantyne, Prince Albert police announced. The two were scheduled to appear Thursday in Prince Albert provincial court.

Police and Parkland Ambulance responded March 22 around 1:20 a.m. to a home in the 300 block of Ninth Street East after a report of a non-responsive male, police said at the time. Ballantyne died at the scene. His death was Prince Albert’s first homicide of 2017.

Two people were taken into custody soon after his death and referred to by police as “suspects,” but no charges were laid or arrests made. The two people were known to Ballantyne, police said.

Police on Thursday confirmed Charles and Janvier were in custody “early in the investigation as suspects but later released.”

Family members remembered Ballantyne as a “gentle giant.”

“I was expecting him to come home the night this happened, and he didn’t,” his mother, Loretta Ballantyne, told Postmedia News in the days after his death.

Loretta Ballantyne said her son had previously struggled with depression and substance abuse, but was turning his life around. He loved to cook and was close to graduating from culinary school.

“He wanted to open his own place where people could come to eat and enjoy each other’s company. He was so proud of his ability to cook and he was so creative with the way he made the food,” she said.

“He had his struggles but he tried so hard ... Deep down he was a big momma’s boy and he knew that we loved him very much. We called him our gentle giant. He had such a gentle heart.”