A 25-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in relation to the discovery of a man's body in a home on Woolwich Street earlier this week.
Police attended the townhouse complex at 576 Woolwich St. on Tuesday for a wellness check of the tenant. Inside, a 51-year-old man was found unresponsive and pronounced deceased by paramedics.
Through subsequent investigation, which included a post-mortem examination, the death was ruled a homicide, states a police news release.
“It is believed the victim died on or about October 21,” states the release, 15 days before the man’s body was found. “There is no ongoing threat to public safety.”
The accused, who was already in custody on unrelated matters, has been charged with second-degree murder.
He is identified by police as having no fixed address.
The building where the body was found is a regular spot for police officers, according to a 13-year resident Cathy Cripps.
She said this is the first homicide in the complex since she’s lived there, but she is used to seeing police because of fights and trespassers, among other things.
“You just mention ‘oh, I live at 576 Woolwich,’ you get ‘oh’ from the police because they’re here all the time. I don’t mean because of homicides. They’re here all the time.”
There are about 100 units in the two-floor townhouse complex and it is all subsidized housing.
It used to be a building strictly housing people aged 55 and older, but Cripps said the rule changed over the last few years to allow anyone of any age to apply and rent a unit.
She said some younger individuals who have since moved in have caused problems, alluding to illegal drug activity.
“There’s people coming in and out of here 24/7,” she said.
Security cameras can be seen all around the building, and security guards have been hired to patrol the building (and another building on Waterloo Avenue) between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.
As for the victim?
“I just knew him to see him,” Cripps said, later adding the 51-year-old wouldn’t have been involved in any drug trade or illegal activity.
“There’s a lot of us that are upset in here, that we just can’t have a nice, peaceful existence.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Guelph police major crime unit at [email protected]. Details can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 or www.csgw.tips.
