79-year-old Gladys Little is Hamilton's fifth homicide

Every day at 11 a.m. 79-year-old Gladys Little would talk to family on the phone.

So when she didn't answer her son's regular call on Saturday, the concerned family went to check on her. Around 4 p.m. May 16 they found the retired nurse dead inside her seventh-floor unit at 187 Park St. S.

Now police say she is a homicide victim.

Police found no signs of forced entry, nothing appeared to be missing.

Initially it did not appear that someone had been in Little's apartment and detectives wondered if her death was perhaps medical, said Det. Sgt. Peter Thom, of the major crime unit.

But that has since changed," he said, adding that as soon as the autopsy began Wednesday afternoon it was very obvious it wasn't medical or natural causes."

Police are not revealing cause of death, even to the family, Thom said.

The autopsy took place at the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto, following the controversial closure of Hamilton's forensic pathology unit in March.

In Hamilton, police never saw a four-day delay for autopsies in suspicious deaths, Thom said.

That delay held us back in some respects," he said. It would have been preferable to have it done sooner than four days."

Now police are trying to piece together what happened to the 79-year-old from around 1 p.m. Friday May 15, when she spoke with a friend, and the discovery of her body the next day around 4 p.m.

We don't know the motive," Thom said, adding that police do not know if she knew her killer or let them inside her apartment.

Gail Gault, a longtime resident of the building, said she had gotten to know Little more than a decade ago through chats in the elevator.

The pair became gardening buddies" when Little secured her the last plot in the Victoria Park Community Gardens.

Gault said Little grew lots" of Swiss chard, lettuce and peppers on her balcony, but often could never eat all of them and would give them to her.

Little was also an avid baker, said Gault, and she would frequently drop off cookies and muffins to some of the other seniors in the building. If Little had made too much soup, she'd drop it off to Gault.

She was very generous that way," said Gault. She always helped people."

On Saturday afternoon, Gault had been down to her plot and had cut about a hundred daffodils and brought them back to drop them off for family and friends, one being Little.

When she knocked on the door of Little's apartment, there was no answer. Police found her later that afternoon.

She was just not the kind of person that harm should come to," said Gault.

Since the news of the homicide, Gault said she hasn't felt unsafe in the building, but others on Little's floor are now worried."

I was talking to her neighbour, and she is just petrified," added Gault.

The retired nurse had lived in the building for 16 years and was very independent, still driving and going to fetch her own groceries, Thom said.

Due to physical-distancing recommendations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she had not been visiting family or having visitors. She would drop baking off for family once or twice a week, he said.

Little's family have asked for privacy after being told the 79-year-old's death is considered a homicide.

In a post on Facebook, one of her sons said they lost the rock of the family," describing Little as strong and independent til the end."

The black and white photo of Little in her nurses' uniform from many years ago was one Little had picked out herself for her own obituary.

Police have been at the scene since Saturday, including forensic investigators and officers canvassing neighbours in the 20-storey building.

We got some good (surveillance) video from the building," Thom said, adding that detectives hope to be able to narrow down the timeline.

The apartment building has a buzzer to access the main doors, but like many apartments it's also easy for someone to slip in when the door is open. The apartment is not one where police are frequently called, but Thom said there are some more problematic neighbouring buildings.

Police are expected to remain at the scene until about Friday afternoon.

Little's death marks the fifth homicide of the year in Hamilton.

Police are asking anyone who saw or heard suspicious activity or people between 1 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday to call Det. Andrew Coughlan at 905-546-3874.

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppershamilton.com.

Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.comFallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com