WATCH ABOVE: The victim of a fatal west Edmonton shooting has a long and gruesome criminal history. Eric Szeto reports.
EDMONTON — A man convicted in a 2007 slaying and dismemberment was shot dead Thursday night.
The body of 32-year-old Jason George Costouros was found on the driveway of a home Thursday in the Suder Green neighbourhood, part of the Lewis Estates area.
Edmonton police were called around 11:30 p.m. to a weapons complaint near 213 Street and 88A Avenue. Costouros was found dead on a driveway in front of a home in a cul-de-sac.
“Police were able to locate a male that had sustained a gunshot wound,” said Acting Insp. Ray Akbar of the Edmonton Police Service. An autopsy later determined he died from a gunshot wound to the chest and confirmed the death as a homicide.
An area resident told Global News they heard multiple shots and a vehicle speeding away. Police said neighbours and officers tried to resuscitate Costouros, but were not successful.
Homicide detectives were investigating the scene until early Friday morning, and talked to several neighbours.
“There are quite a few witnesses,” said Akbar. “A lot of neighbours heard what appear to be gunshots, and alerted police.”
A neighbour said Costouros lived with his parents, and had a lengthy criminal history. He was most notably known for a 2007 slaying and dismemberment at the Boardwalk Centre apartment buildings on Jasper Avenue and 88th Street.
Police were called after blood began seeping through the ceiling of an apartment on the floor below. When an officer entered the 14th-floor crime scene, he discovered four young men, a suite covered in blood, and the partially dismembered body of 23-year-old David Wong. Wong’s arms and one leg were discovered in garbage bags. He had been stabbed 158 times.
In 2008, Costouros and the three other men pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact. Costouros was sentenced to four and a half years behind bars. Wong’s killer remains a mystery.
WATCH: Neighbours have identified the man killed in a west Edmonton shooting late Thursday night as Jason Costouros. Michel Boyer reports.
On Friday, a neighbour told Global News Costouros was living with his parents.
“We knew of him,” said one resident. “We knew he was trying to straighten up. He was doing really well, so who knows. I mean, I don’t know if it’s random or targeted.”
Costouros continued to have trouble with the law after his release. Court documents show in 2014 he was given 12 months probation for an assault and this year, got 30 days in jail for breaching a peace bond. He was set to appear in court in Didsbury next week for uttering threats.
Neighbours, who did not want to be named, said many families with children live in the cul-de-sac. The shooting has rattled the close-knit community.
“Thank God it wasn’t during the day, when we have a lot of kids playing outside,” said another resident. “We have a lot of young families, so there’s a lot of kids on the street.”
On Friday morning some residents could be seen running from their front doors to their cars.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
With files from Michel Boyer and Vinesh Pratap, Global News
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