Nicole Prevost relished the reconnection with her half-brother Gerry Prevost. The two share the same father. She is the youngest and Gerry the oldest.
“He is literally the kindest man I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing,” Nicole said.
Her 57-year-old sibling had recently moved to Calgary from Ontario for work.
“He came here to contribute and he worked his whole life and this is what happened to him?
“I love my brother and I miss him and I want his story told.”
Gerard Prevost died on Oct. 14, 2023, near the Calgary Drop-In Centre where he was staying. Nicole Prevost said police told her he was found slumped over in an alley and they suspect he overdosed and fell down and there was nothing suspicious.
“He didn’t do drugs, alcohol was his demon. He wouldn’t even take Tylenol when he was in pain,” she said.
She said police also told her it wasn’t criminal, but she feels that doesn’t line up with the other evidence.
Gerry’s cellphone records suggest the device he had on him the day he died was being used by someone else.
“I noticed there were phone calls after his death the same night in the evening for about two weeks after this death,” Nicole said.
Gerry’s mother and brother spoke to Global News from their home in Scarborough, Ont. Cheryn Godin said she believes her son was murdered.
“I want to know but I’m scared to find out what the truth is.”
His brother, Rick Godin, has spent the last several months trying to get answers.
“We want my brother to rest and my mom wants peace of mind,” Rick said.
He said the family is still waiting on official autopsy reports and said they’ve been told toxicology results can take up to year.
“I think they wrote him off as another drunk Indian,” Rick said. “I talked to medical examiner and there was a gash in his head and glass all around him.
“It doesn’t look right, it doesn’t sound right… and the puzzle pieces aren’t fitting.”
“We have been given conflicting information at every step of the way,” Nicole said. “Society is writing these people off. They matter.”
Calgary police said they recognized the significant impact that unanswered questions have on families, and police strive to provide professional care and compassion to all those they encounter.
“In general, when it comes to sudden death investigations, police are notified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner if circumstances surrounding the death are suspicious. In cases that are believed to be suspicious, the CPS homicide unit is assigned to investigate,” a statement reads.
No one from the provincial Justice minister’s office or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner responded to the repeated requests for comment. Global News tried for two weeks.
This doesn’t come as a big surprise to Nigel Kirk; he has experienced homelessness and is now an advocate for others.
“It’s very difficult for anyone to get accurate state of the story when no one wants to talk to anybody about these things,” Kirk said.
He wondered whether their investigations are being treated fairly.
“We are an afterthought.”
Chaz Smith is the founder of Be the Change YYC. He believes with the number of deaths in the homeless community doubling in the last year alone, more needs to be done. He has been working in outreach and said there’s more violence than ever before.
“I see the bruises, the broken limbs, the beatings and when you have over 400 individuals dying I’d like to think police are looking at each one of those but I wonder if they have the resources,” Smith said.
Jocelyn Rain Bone is one of those deaths from last year. The 30-year-old died on March 17, 2023.
Her only sister, Selena Dudeck, last saw her sister alive in December 2022.
“I knew by the way she hugged me it would be the last time and I felt something bad was going to happen,” Dudeck recalled. “She said she would be home in two weeks and she came home in a body bag.”
Dudeck lives in Winnipeg and said her sister often stayed at the Calgary Drop-In Centre.
“I was told she collapsed at their front doors and she died and police told me they think it was natural and she fell on her face. They think it was an overdose,” Dudeck said.
A medical examiner’s report reveals the cause of death is “pending investigation.” The family is convinced she was murdered.
“Seeing her body the way it was just broke my heart.
“Her face was caved in, her nose was broken, all her teeth were broken, there was a big bruise and bumps all over her head, and bruises between her legs. She had bruise on her back and her hands and arms and her lips were busted open,” Dudeck said.
She can’t help feeling her only sister was invisible in life and is now unseen in death.
“She was Indigenous and at a homeless shelter and that goes hand in hand with, we don’t care about those people.”
Former homicide detective Dave Sweet was not involved in the cases Global News is highlighting and said he has full confidence in the integrity of the process.
“There is a heavy burden to investigate someone’s death and the people that do that accept the responsibility,” Sweet said. “The circumstance surrounding death can be complicated and can be complex and some answers take longer to come than what families want.”
Bryce Bjerstedt is another grieving loved one who came forward with suspicions. He said his mother, Teresa, is among those who died at the drop-in shelter last April.
“It’s inconclusive. I’ve been waiting on the autopsy but it’s been 10 months now,” Bjerstedt said.
He believes someone hurt her. He said her possessions were missing and her walker was in pieces.
“I think it was intentional. She kept telling me: ‘This is going to be where I die.’ She was scared to stay there.”
The Calgary Drop-In Centre would not agree to an interview about any of these cases, citing privacy concerns.
Calgary police referred to the same conditions.
“In respect to these three investigations, circumstances surrounding their deaths were deemed to be non-criminal by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. As such, per FOIP legislation, we are unable to comment further on specific cases that are deemed to be non-criminal in nature,” a statement concluded.
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