Police have no leads in killing of homeless man
Vancouver force appeals to public for help in solving 'disturbing and heinous' slaying of one-legged man in wheelchair
VANCOUVER -- Michael Nestoruk cut a distinctive figure in the east Vancouver neighbourhood where he often panhandled. He had lost a leg and used a wheelchair to negotiate the bustling sidewalks where rows of Chinese and Vietnamese eateries are sandwiched between produce stands.Occasionally he would show up Saturday mornings at the Collingwood Neighbourhood House, which offers breakfasts and showers to the needy. By the time he was killed last week at the age of 41, Mr. Nestoruk was both disabled and homeless.
Mr. Nestoruk's body was discovered last Thursday morning in the schoolyard of Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School. A parent dropping a child off discovered the body at 7:30 a.m. His wheelchair was found nearby.
Three days after the gruesome discovery, police said they have no suspects and are appealing to the public for help in solving the tragic case.
"He was a homeless, defenceless victim and this is truly a disturbing and heinous crime," Constable Lindsey Houghton told reporters yesterday.
The discovery of Mr. Nestoruk's body came less than a week after the body of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was discovered in Vancouver's Pacific Spirit Park. The popular community activist was on an afternoon run when she was attacked.
The two deaths occurred on opposite ends of town, and the victims lived in different worlds, but in both cases, police say the homicides may be rare instances of random violence.
That notion is an extra burden on the Olympic city whose reputation - at home and abroad - is dimming due to a spate of gang-related shootings.
Mr. Nestoruk was Vancouver's 13th homicide of the year.
"Mr. Nestoruk was a homeless man," Constable Houghton said. "He had one leg. He was confined to a wheelchair. For someone or some people to do this to him, it's tragic."
Police said Mr. Nestoruk was familiar to some shop owners in the east-end neighbourhood, but few interviewed yesterday could conjure up any memories.
A cashier at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Joyce Street and Kingsway said he remembered seeing a one-legged man in a wheelchair on the streets during fine weather. But he didn't speak to the man.
Councillor Kerry Jang, who helped set up the breakfast program at the Collingwood centre, said Mr. Nestoruk often came for a meal as do hundreds of men and women in the area.
The residential east-end neighbourhood is home to at least 100 homeless people, Mr. Jang said.
Many take shelter at night on the porches at Sir Guy Carleton school. Prostitutes and drug dealers congregate there, too.
Mr. Jang said Mr. Nestoruk's death underscores the need for more shelters and permanent housing.
"If we had a safe place where this guy could go to in the evening, he'd probably be alive today. He'd probably be getting help today. And that is what's frustrating."
Local resident Michael McLachlan said he was surprised to learn that Thursday's homicide was apparently random. Mr. McLachlan said when he heard there was a homicide last week, he assumed it was gang-related.
It's frightening to think that someone would deliberately hurt a disabled man, he said.
"You see people getting shot on a regular base. My assumption was, 'This is another gang shooting,' not some poor guy in a wheelchair."
Police have not said how Mr. Nestoruk was killed nor do they have a motive. He had a string of minor theft convictions, but police said his criminal past "wasn't serious."
"Out of respect for him, we don't want to focus on that [his police record]. We want to focus on appealing to the public," Constable Houghton said.
"Our investigators, I wouldn't say they've hit a wall on the investigation, but they're having a hard time piecing together the events that led up to Mr. Nestoruk's death."
