London, Ont. homicide victim remembered as a loving friend, father, and talented guitarist

The victim of Sunday’s homicide in Gibbons Park is being remembered by those who knew him as a loving father, a sweet man and a renowned guitarist.

The investigation into the death of Daniel Fawcett, 52, is ongoing by London, Ont., police, and no suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the case.

Fawcett was found unresponsive around 6:45 a.m. near the bottom of the Grosvenor Street hill leading into Gibbons Park. Emergency crews began life-saving measures, however, he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

Few other details have been made public, however, police revealed Monday that Fawcett’s death was being treated as a homicide.

A member of London’s tight-knit music scene, Fawcett was known as a talented and versatile guitarist who could play any style you threw at him, said musician and Elvis Presley tribute artist, Tim E. Hendry, a longtime close friend.

“We played in so many different bands together for years and years. I think every band I ever played drums in in London, Dan at one point had to be the guitar player,” Hendry said by phone from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where he has lived since May 2021.

“He was the lead guitarist in my Elvis show up there, Tim E. & The Yes Men. He could play that chicken pickin’, beautiful, James Burton, Telecaster-clean sound, and then the next night he can go and play Ozzy Osborne or go play for Helix or something like that.”

Fawcett played guitar for Helix from 2002 until 2004, appearing on the band’s 2004 album Rockin’ in My Outer Space. “Dan was a sweet guy-always smiling-and a great guitar player as well. No details have been released yet, so there’s little more I can say here. All I can say is that both Lynda and I are in shock,” read a post on Helix’s Facebook page.

Hendry says he first met Fawcett in the late 1980s after moving to London from Sault Ste. Marie. In town for roughly a week, he says he hit it off with Fawcett and with other local musicians.

“It was just one of those times where you just get an instant rapport with everybody. You just, you click with them, you just know that, yeah, we were meant to be friends.”

The two continued to keep in touch after Hendry moved to Tennessee, and spoke last week about Fawcett getting his passport renewed so he could come to Pigeon Forge for gigs.

“I said, I can get you work here, and he was getting reinvigorated because … like everybody in Canada, for the longest time, there was no work,” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“He, like everybody, went through some struggles there, but (there was) light at the end of the tunnel, and then some scumbag took him from us.”

Hendry described Fawcett as being like a brother to him, and says he felt numb upon hearing of his death over breakfast while returning from a festival in Georgia.

“Dan was loved so much beyond his incredible talent on the guitar, he was just one of the sweetest guys you’ll ever meet, and we just can’t fathom why anybody would do this to him. He wouldn’t hurt a flea. He was just so kind-hearted, and all he cared about was his friends, his music, and his especially his beautiful daughter,” he said.

“What a tragic loss for such a beautiful soul to be taken away way too early.”

Police did not have any updates to provide in the investigation on Tuesday. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise funds in support of Fawcett’s daughter and her mother.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have been in the 0-100 block of Grosvenor Street between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Sunday, or who may have information, to contact them at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

The homicide investigation is the city’s fifth of 2022.