From mistaken identity to drive-by shooting: Recapping Hamilton’s 13 homicides of 2020

To say Hamilton's homicide detectives are busy recently is an understatement.

There have been 13 homicides so far in the city in 2020. This includes two clusters: four homicides between July 11 and 26 and another three between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1.

There is no rhyme or reason why they go up or down year to year," said Supt. Paul Hamilton, who oversees investigative services at Hamilton police.

That's just the nature, unfortunately, of the policing business."

There is no evidence any of these homicides are related. The cases range from intimate partner violence, to a drive-by shooting, to at least one case of mistaken identity.

Over the last 20 years there have been 306 homicides in Hamilton. The lowest year, with four homicides, was in 1993. But just two years later, in 1995, there were 16 - the most in the past 20 years. Last year, there were 13.

Seven of this year's homicide victims were shot. There has been an overall increase in gun violence here - including 37 shootings so far this year - but in most cases no one was hurt.

We're lucky, as far as the number of shootings, the vast majority have not resulted in homicide," Hamilton said.

At the Hamilton Police Service, homicides are investigated by the major crime unit. The team includes three staff sergeants and 12 detectives. There are no plans to expand the unit, but they've been so busy that, since May, detectives from other areas of investigative services have been called in to help with cases.

Major crime investigations are unlike any other in policing. All major cases" are required to have a case manager, a lead detective and a file co-ordinator. Only major crime detectives can fill those roles in the investigative triangle."

Hamilton's current major crime case managers are staff sergeants Peter Thom, Steve Bereziuk and Jim Callender - these are the police officers quoted in news stories, because they are in charge of what information can be released.

The detectives also investigate attempted murders and are sometimes temporarily called in after a suspicious death that later proves not to be a homicide.

The amount of work also depends on the the complexity of the cases," Hamilton said.

A case where the suspect or suspects are unknown can obviously be challenging. Hamilton used the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Tim Bosma as an example of a case that drew a lot of resources.

But that also doesn't mean, just because a suspect is caught at the scene or the crime is captured on video that it's a slam dunk," he said.

Homicide cases are very complex obviously because of the evidence," Hamilton said.

We're talking about somebody convicted going away for the rest of their life. The bar is very high."

Every step of gathering evidence has to be within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and has to conform to case law about searches and how to obtain evidence, he said. Investigations can go on for years and include thousands of pages of information.

Restrictions around COVID-19, including challenges around when and where people are interviewed, have made cases more complex. There were also several trials delayed in court amid the pandemic and more cases are winning second trials on appeal.

There is also work that goes on behind the scenes, such as witness management. Sometimes witnesses needs to be tracked down and brought to court; some witnesses may have been co-operative at first, but years later in court are not.

And in addition to current active cases, most detectives have at least one cold case assigned to them.

In the end, it's about the victims and their families, Hamilton said.

There is a very strong obligation for victims family," he said. We want to see justice for them."

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