Edmonton police have charged a man who is now 33 years old in relation to the death of a senior who was randomly attacked east of downtown while walking to get his morning papers more than 16 years ago.
The suspect was a teenager at the time of the crime.
Just after 5 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2007, an off-duty police officer in the area of 96th Street and 102A Avenue came upon a badly injured 65-year-old man lying on the sidewalk.
Police said the man was assaulted. He was taken to hospital but died of his injuries five days later.
An autopsy determined William Kapach died of blunt cranial trauma and his death was ruled a homicide.
People who knew Kapach told Global News at the time that he would wake up early every day, walk down 96th Street, grab a coffee and a copy of the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun.
He had both papers in hand when police said he was mugged. He was only a block away from home and only had a few cents on him at the time.
“Mr. Kapach was known by the downtown community as a man who generally kept to himself and enjoyed his early morning walks,” Det. Bryan Kincheloe with the EPS historical homicide unit said in a news release Thursday.
“This was truly a tragic occurrence where a 65-year-old Edmontonian lost his life as he strolled through downtown Edmonton looking for the newspaper of the day.”
Police investigated Kapach’s death, but were not able to identify a suspect at the time.
In 2021, the EPS’ historical homicide unit took over the investigation. Police said forensic science in relation to fingerprints, and the identification of additional witnesses helped officers pinpoint a suspect.
“In regards to our unit, time is on our side because sometimes in the initial investigations with homicides, some witnesses don’t want to come forward right away for concerns that they have – whether it’s, they’re worried about what their peers are going to think or being involved in a gang lifestyle,” Kincheloe said.
“Now we speak with witnesses 16 years later and we see that they’re in a different chapter in their life. They’re not afraid of the same things they were afraid of when they were younger and they’re a little bit more comfortable with coming in and speaking to us and telling us what they saw and heard.”
The EPS historical homicide unit is comprised of four detectives and one sergeant. The unit currently has 212 case files, with 10 to 15 files under review at any given time.
Kincheloe said he wants Edmontonians to know that cases like this are not forgotten.
“For 16 years, Mr. Kapach’s family was left with unanswered questions,” Kincheloe said. “While we are saddened to discover that his death was a random and devastating event, we are hopeful this news will bring them some comfort.”
On Jan. 18, police arrested a 33-year-old man and charged him with second-degree murder in Kapach’s death.
Because the man was 16 years old at the time of the death, his name cannot be released as per the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Kincheloe said it doesn’t appear that the accused and Kapach knew each other but added the accused “is known to police and he does have a violent history.”
The accused is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
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