THUNDER BAY - The death of a Thunder Bay man whose body was found in a south side home following a fire is now being treated as a homicide.
Det. Insp. John Fennell with the Thunder Bay Police Service confirmed a homicide investigation has been launched by the Major Crimes Unit on Friday following a review of the results of a post mortem examination of the victim completed earlier this week.
Police and Thunder Bay Fire Rescue were originally called to a residence on the 100 block of Frederica Street East Sunday night following reports of a structural fire.
The home sustained extensive damage, including bricks blown off from the exterior of the building and residents in the area reporting hearing a loud bang.
After the fire was extinguished a deceased male was located inside. His name is not being released at this time but he has been identified as a 33-year-old man from Thunder Bay.
Because it is still an ongoing investigation Fennell was unable to say if the man was deceased prior to the fire. Fennell did say that the victim and the house were not known to police.
"We are fully aware that there is a great deal of information out there that I can suggest is not accurate," he said. "I am not in a position to eliminate. It would be too difficult to eliminate what’s true and what’s not true in social media."
Police remain on the scene and the investigation is ongoing with assistance from the Office of the Fire Marshall, the Chief Coroner's Office, and pathology.
Fennell is asking anyone who may have video surveillance of the area that could assist in the investigation to contact police.
"Several persons have come forward with video and other pieces of information that have been very helpful to the investigation," he said. "We are going through that large amount of information right now. If there is anybody else out there who we may not have contacted in that area, please let us know. We would be happy to make arrangements to have an officer come down to get that information."
Anyone with information that could assist investigators are encouraged to call police at 684-1200 or submit tips through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, online at www.p3tips.com. Specifically, investigators are looking for residents in the area who may have home video surveillance or dash camera footage from Sunday, Oct. 3 between 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
