Person of interest sought in west Edmonton suspicious death

Edmonton police are asking for help to find a person of interest in relation to the city’s latest suspicious death.

Kendall Desjarlais, 32, is being sought by police in connection to the death of James Joel Dunham, 40.

“Again he is just a person of interest, not a suspect at this time,” said Scott Pattison, spokesperson for Edmonton Police Service. Pattison would not elaborate on what led police to Desjarlais or what the relationship is between the two men.

Dunham was found dead in a residence near 101 Avenue and 153 Street around 5:20 a.m. on Friday. Police had initially been called to Cloverdale Apartments for a weapons complaint. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

View image in full screen

Police are looking for information on Desjarlais’ whereabouts as well as his activities leading up to and/or following Dunham’s death.

“He could be anywhere at this time. He does have warrants out for him,” Pattison said.

“He is known to police, I’ll say that. Investigators would like to speak to Mr. Desjarlais and the sooner, the better.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He is known to police, I'll say that. Investigators would like to speak to Mr. Desjarlais and the sooner, the better."

Police said they are not looking at any other persons of interest.

“No, at this time, this is information that [investigators] have and this is the individual, again, that is of the most interest to them. It’s imperative that they speak to him. The case is, again, it’s fairly recent… and, with any suspicious death investigation, finding as many witnesses to speak to quickly is imperative,” Pattison said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "No, at this time, this is information that [investigators] have and this is the individual, again, that is of the most interest to them. It's imperative that they speak to him. The case is, again, it's fairly recent… and, with any suspicious death investigation, finding as many witnesses to speak to quickly is imperative," Pattison said.

Edmonton police said Desjarlais should not be approached; the public is being asked to contact police if they encounter him.