More on Richard Crowder, the city’s second homicide victim of the year on
Friends described victim as a troubled father of two sons who was trying to turn his life around
Police don’t believe a f atal weekend stabbing of a 31-year-old man in central Hamilton was a random attack.
Richard Crowder emerged from a two-storey rooming house complex at 86 Birge St. Sunday with mortal wounds. The address is well-known to police.
“Given what we do know, it’s not a random incident. Just to put the general public at ease you can say it was a targeted and non-random attack,” acting Det. Sgt. Peter Thom said Monday.
The front door of the building, which contains four second-floor apartments as well as three on the main floor, was still marred by bloodstains Monday. Blood could also be seen by two nearby sewers in an alley running immediately west of the structure.
Friends described Crowder as a troubled father of two sons who was trying to turn his life around. He managed to flee the rooming house, located just east of Victoria Avenue North, before collapsing in an adjacent alley at 2:33 p.m.
Crowder was taken to the nearby Hamilton General Hospital. He died less than an hour later.
Thom could not say whether Crowder was a resident of the Birge building or was a frequent visitor. Police were still searching for a lone male suspect as of Monday night.
But Thom suggested the victim was known to the assailant, adding, “I don’t know the level of familiarity.”
The forensic unit, he added, will likely be on scene for the next two days.
He said police were still interviewing witnesses, some of whom are more co-operative than others. Police were not prepared yet to release a composite sketch of a suspect.
Thom was closed-mouthed about a possible motive.
“There are a number of possibilities and I can’t get into it.”
He said he couldn’t say whether Crowder had been stabbed more than once. Police were still looking for a murder weapon.
Crowder’s two sons are believed to be 13 and seven. He was estranged from the boys’ mother. He was the oldest of four children. He is survived by his parents, a youn- ger sister and two younger brothers.
Crowder grew up in the Parkdale area of east Hamilton and had been working in Alberta. He’d returned to Hamilton fairly recently.
The complex has been owned for the past three years by Brampton landlord Harry Nijjar, who also owns two rental properties in Brampton.
Nijjar said the Birge complex has been a constant headache. He said he’s had trouble controlling the tenants of the main floor and has experienced trouble evicting tenants who are allowing friends and acquaintances to live there.
Nijjar said he is aware there is drug use and has been told by neighbours that the site is fre- quented by sex workers. The Hamilton Fire Department has expressed concerns about lack of smoke alarms.
“Every time I go there I find different people living there, on the floor and the sofa. It’s very hard for me to control them,” he said.
The distinct salmon-coloured complex is located just north of the CN tracks between East Avenue and Victoria Avenue North. It is a stone’s throw from Hamilton General Hospital. Neighbour Kirby Butler said police had been at the complex three straight days prior to the slaying.
Crowder’s aunt, Jackie Russell of Collingwood, said her nephew was a kind-hearted individual.
“He was a very sweet kid. He would do anything for anyone. He had two little boys. All I know is he came back to Hamilton to try and get back with them,” she said.
Russell said she couldn’t say where Crowder had been staying.
This is Hamilton’s second homicide of 2016. The first happened about 12 hours earlier after a woman was found dead in a hotel room at the Admiral Inn. The two cases are not connected.
Police say the family of the victim is requesting privacy.
Anyone with information can call Det. Angela Abrams at 905546-4129. The public can also use Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.