Toni Zimbalatti remembers her son Joel as a funny, charismatic and quick-witted young man.
At 21 years old, he was the kind of person who would “give the shirt off his back.” While he loved his family dearly, she said his one true love was a blind-deaf chihuahua rat terrier named Eli.
“Wherever Joel went, the dog went. He treated that dog like a child, and the dog was there when it happened.”
Joel was found dead in a trailer in Sparwood, B.C. about a month ago — the shooter unknown. One man fled the scene before Mounties arrived on Oct. 11, but another was taken into custody and later released without charge.
Two weeks later, police identified both as persons of interest in the case. The man who fled, however, is nowhere to be found and no one seems to know his real name — only the alias, “Slim.”
“Slim is one of the last people to see my son alive and I just need to know what happened,” Zimbalatti said, sitting in her living room next to a childhood picture of Joel.
“If anybody out there knows Slim or has any substantial tips on his whereabouts, please, please come forward, I beg of you.”
According to Zimbalatti, Slim had been staying with her son periodically, but she’s unsure how the pair knew each other. She never met or saw the man.
The day he died, Joel was about to cook Thanksgiving dinner for his family, and that week, he was about to start a new job with friends.
“Just a happy guy, smiling all the time, loved to pull pranks, loved to make people laugh, loved to cook,” Zimbalatti said.
“Joel was an amazing human being. He didn’t get a chance. His candle was snuffed out far too soon.”
Slim was last seen in the Kimberly area on Oct. 12, but has ties to the Okanagan area, according to RCMP. He’s described as a tall, thin white man between 20 and 25, with black hair and distinctive, trimmed sideburns.
Zimbalatti said he may have gone by “Skinny” in the past as well. She said she doesn’t know why anyone would want to kill her son, but wants answers — no matter what they reveal.
“I don’t know if it’s maybe a botched robbery, or possibly an accident — kids messing around with guns, or if it was done on purpose. I don’t know and we don’t have the answers,” she told Global News.
“He deserves justices. We deserve the truth.”
Joel had no previous criminal record and was found on Oct. 11 by a neighbour, Christian Wickett, who considered him family.
The RCMP’s lead investigator on the case wasn’t available for comment Thursday. The force couldn’t say whether Joel’s death was random or targeted, or whether any leads had come in on Slim.
“I can’t go the rest of my life just wondering,” Zimbalatti implored.
“Do the right thing. Slim is the last person to see my son alive and he has answers. He knows what happened. I can’t sit here in limbo anymore.”
RCMP are urging the public not to approach Slim if they see him, but call 911. Information about Slim or the case can be directed to 1-877-987-8477.
— with files from Kristen Robinson
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