Hamilton police identify Stanley Gordon Waite as homicide victim

Those who live in tents on the site of a demolished glass factory in northeast Hamilton knew the city's second homicide victim this year as Tiny."

You know when Tiny's around because he's loud and boisterous," Edward Shemilt said.

But when he went to find him in a tent pitched in tall grass alongside the CN tracks just north of the barren industrial site, that wasn't the case.

He was in bad shape."

On Tuesday, police identified Tiny" as Stanley Gordon Waite.

The 32-year-old Hamilton resident lived in a tent by the tracks near Lottridge Street but also stayed with friends and relatives, Det. Sgt. Jason Cattle told reporters.

After the tragic discovery, his grieving family has asked for privacy, Cattle said.

They're obviously very distraught and upset."

Devon Pastoric, 32, who is from the Hamilton area, has been charged with second-degree murder. He made his first court appearance Tuesday.

Cattle declined to disclose a cause of death, noting Waite's body was still undergoing an autopsy in Toronto.

He also cited concerns about preserving the integrity of the investigation and wouldn't say if police had recovered a weapon.

The only person that knows how he died is the accused," Cattle alleged.

Pastoric showed up at the police station Monday to confess that he did something" and that he might have killed somebody," the detective said.

With that, police started probing the grassy terrain around the tracks before fielding a 911 call reporting a possible dead man there shortly afterward.

When police arrived, the signs of death were obvious," Cattle said.

He said there had been a dispute between Waite and Pastoric, who'd only recently come to know each other.

At this time, all I'm willing to say is there was an argument."

Cattle said Pastoric wasn't living by the tracks near the former Dominion Glass property, which is the site of a future city park.

Waite's death comes during a homelessness crisis that has deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic and overlapped with a period of skyrocketing housing costs.

Amid stepped-up bylaw enforcement, there are fewer tents in city parks but some people who can't or won't stay in shelters for a range of reasons - including mental illness and substance-use disorders - still find places to live in wooded or abandoned properties.

Shemilt, who noted he too is homeless, was visiting a handful of people living in tents on the former glass factory site, which is north of Barton Street East, on Monday evening.

Just the night before, he and Tiny" had scavenged for items from a garbage bin in a nearby alley, the 43-year-old said.

We got some good stuff out of there. He was all happy. He found a bunch of change and stuff."

But the next day, he found Tiny face-down in his tent with what appeared to be wounds on his back, Shemilt said.

There was blood everywhere. It was a mess."

He alerted the father of a friend, who called 911, said Shemilt, who couldn't speculate as to what might have sparked the violence.

Nothing that you'd think would deserve that."

Cattle told reporters investigators want to speak to more witnesses, but directly, to record a truthful statement from them, rather than hearing it from the media."

Police also hope to view video footage from the area that might offer more clues for their ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Det. Nesreen Shawihat at 905-546-4863.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com