THUNDER BAY, Ont. – A suspect wanted in a northern Ontario homicide may be on the verge of turning himself in to authorities hundreds of kilometres away, police in Thunder Bay, Ont., said Monday.
Det. Insp. Ryan Hughes said a 27-year-old man wanted in the death of Lee Chiodo is rumoured to be in his home town of Kitchener, Ont. If he surrenders to police, the man will join two other suspects in facing first-degree murder and kidnapping charges in Chiodo’s death, Hughes said.
“We have received information that he is in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and is possibly going to turn himself in,” Hughes told reporters at a news conference.
If the man does not surrender, Hughes said a Canada-wide warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Cherri Greeno, spokeswoman with the Waterloo regional police, said the force does not currently have any information on the man’s whereabouts but encouraged him to surrender to authorities.
Hughes said police began investigating Chiodo’s death on Feb. 24 when someone came upon a body lying by an isolated roadside in Thunder Bay.
Chiodo, 40, was identified days later. Hughes said the man was shot, but declined to confirm whether that was the cause of his death.
Police made their first arrest in Chiodo’s death on Saturday evening when they took a 47-year-old man into custody.
A day later, a 27-year-old from Thunder Bay turned himself in.
Both those men are facing kidnapping and first-degree murder charges, Hughes said, declining to say whether a relationship existed between the three suspects in Chiodo’s death.
Hughes said Chiodo appeared to be targeted and said there is limited risk to the public outside of a specific demographic.
“The vulnerable areas that are targeted is the drug community,” he said. “The general public, in my opinion, don’t have a big worry.”
The investigation remains open.