3 suspicious deaths this year now considered homicides: Edmonton police

Three deaths are now being listed as homicides rather than suspicious deaths, Edmonton police said Thursday.

On May 9, Mohamed Amin Hassan Jama, 34, was found dead in an apartment suite in the area of 107 Avenue and 116 Street on May 9.

Jama’s death was considered suspicious, but police said further testing needed to be done after an autopsy.

At the time, police did not have suspects in custody, but Jama’s family released his photo in hopes that someone would come forward with information.

On June 25, Rajan Baraich was found in the area of 107 Avenue between 101 and 102 Streets with what police called life-threatening injuries after a hit and run. The 31-year-old died of his injuries in hospital the next day.

Police told media at the time the death was considered suspicious after learning there was an “altercation” before the collision. Police said at the time they didn’t believe the collision was random.

An autopsy was completed at the time, but police didn’t reveal the cause of death and said the manner of death was still under investigation.

Gabriel Sunshine was found dead after a disturbance at a residence in the area of 16 Avenue and 42 Street on July 26. Police said they arrived to find the 34-year-old with life-threatening injuries, but he died before he could be taken to hospital.

A person of interest was taken into custody, but was later released, police said in an update on July 31.

Police didn’t specify what led the three deaths to be classified as homicides, citing only “further progression” in the investigations.

In the release, police said no further information on the three deaths was going to be provided at this time.

There have been 27 homicides in Edmonton in 2020.

Anyone with information about these three homicides is asked to call Edmonton police at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.