SASKATOON – It was exactly one year ago on Friday when a 16-year-old lost his life becoming Saskatoon’s fourth homicide victim of 2015. Now, on the one-year anniversary of Danil Tsannie’s murder there are renewed calls by police for any information that could help crack the case.
Officers say on the afternoon of April 1, 2015, they responded to a call of an injured male outside of a residence in the 100-block of Avenue I North. The teen was pronounced dead on scene and at the time his identity was unknown.
READ MORE: Police investigating Saskatoon’s third homicide of 2016
“It’s a suspicious death that would lead us to believe that it was probably a homicide,” said Chief Clive Weighill at the time of the crime.
“I don’t know the individual’s name right now, but I know he’s young.”
In the days to follow, friends would confirm the deceased as Danil Tsannie and 365 days later homicide investigators are hoping to generate new leads.
“They believe that people out there have more information and they would like them to come forward to investigators. So the anniversary is a means to kind of renew interest and request the public’s assistance in finding some closure for this family,” said Saskatoon police spokesperson Kelsie Fraser.
Since Tsannie’s murder, investigators have been able to piece together the hours leading up to his death and what ultimately killed him.
“Through the investigation and the autopsy it was determined that he did die of a gunshot wound so that is a new piece of information that we are releasing today.”
Investigators have spoken to several persons of interest who were in touch with Tsannie that day but believe there are others out there. They also believe that the person(s) responsible were known to Tsannie and that he suffered the gunshot wound in the early morning hours of April 1 after arriving at the home shortly after midnight.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call police at 306-975-8300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
“The more time that goes on people forget certain details that they might not have if you’re able to talk to them early,” said Fraser.
Just one week prior to Tsannie’s death, 18-year-old Brittney Gargol was found fatally wounded on Cedar Villa Estates Road on March 25, 2015. Her homicide remains unsolved by police as well.