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Police lay murder charge in connection with Saskatoon hotel death

Preston Thomas was found dead in a room at the Saskatoon Inn on Aug. 1, 2020.
Preston Thomas was found dead in a room at the Saskatoon Inn on Aug. 1, 2020. GoFundMe

Police have charged a 28-year-old with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Preston Logan Thomas at the Saskatoon Inn on Aug. 1.

Joel Yuzicapi was arrested alongside another person of interest Tuesday evening at a home in the 200 block of Avenue S North.

Saskatoon police said in a media release that the 27-year-old victim and the accused knew each other.

Officers were called to a hotel along Airport Drive this past weekend for a report of an injured man in a hotel room. Thomas was found dead inside.

Yuzicapi made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon in Saskatoon provincial court. He wore a black tank top and had dyed blond and red hair.

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He is also charged with being unlawfully at large, break and enter with assault, assault with a weapon, and breach of probation for an incident in September 2019.

Thomas was identified as being Saskatoon’s eighth homicide victim of 2020 through an online fundraiser. It said he was the father of two children.

“He was a strong, loyal and loving hard working man who would do what he needed for his family and children,” reads the page crowdsourcing money for his grave lot.

“He was always making people laugh and was the ‘life of the party.’”

Police said the investigation into Thomas’ death remains open and ask anyone with information to come forward.

Click to play video: 'Saskatoon police continue to investigate the city’s 8th homicide'
Saskatoon police continue to investigate the city’s 8th homicide

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