It’s been two years since a Colombian tourist died following what police called an “extremely heinous” attack in northeast Edmonton, and investigators have yet to solve the homicide.
Edmonton police are once again putting out a plea to the public for information in Leonardo Duran-Ibanez’s 2016 death.
On Nov. 13, police said 42-year-old Duran-Ibanez, of Colombia, was walking with his brother-in-law Elias Malkum in the area of 119 Avenue and 97 Street when the pair was confronted by a group of four men and two women.
Police said the men were walking home from an evening out at a nearby Latin club. Duran-Ibanez was visiting Canada at the time, staying with his sister, Milena Maria Duran, and Malkum.
The suspects allegedly assaulted the men, “repeatedly punching one… in the face, while pushing the other to the ground, before repeatedly kicking the 42-year-old man in the head,” police said in a news release at the time.
It’s believed the group ran away, leaving Duran-Ibanez unconscious and Malkum with minor injuries.
Paramedics arrived and were able to revive the 42-year-old but he died from his injuries later that afternoon.
An autopsy confirmed Duran-Ibanez died from “injuries consistent with severe head trauma.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Malkum said his family is still in a state of shock.
“We never thought something like this could happen to our family in such a peaceful place like Canada. We miss Leonardo every day. My wife, and Leonardo’s sister, is devastated.”
EPS Det, Rick Thomas, who is leading the homicide investigation, said the “brutal act of violence has traumatized this family.”
“The family came to Edmonton for a better way of life. Now they’re left trying to piece their lives back together, with those responsible yet to be brought to justice. We’re hoping today, two years later, someone with valuable information will finally step forward and help to ease this family’s pain.”
A $40,000 reward is being offered for concrete information that leads to an arrest. However, limited information has come in to police so far.
Watch below: Global News spoke with the family of Duran-Ibanez in November 2016
Anyone with information about the homicide is encouraged to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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