Bond Street homicide victim laid to rest days before he was supposed to go to rehab
There's an information blackout around a homicide in downtown St. John's last week, as police have retreated from the public eye in the hunt to catch a killer.
A week after the death of Joseph Hapgood, 23, on Bond Street, there's still no word on the weapon used to inflict the fatal wound, or if the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has identified any suspects.
The altercation happened outside an emergency shelter last Tuesday, where witnesses say a group of people were gathered in an alleyway. Some witnesses said they heard a gunshot; others said they didn't hear anything.
The victim has been described as a bright young man who struggled with mental illness and addiction. Sources close to the family say he was two months clean, and was killed 13 days before he was scheduled to start rehab.
He was laid to rest over the long weekend.
Police held a news conference the day after the homicide, announcing Hapgood had died and urging anyone with security video from the area to turn it over.
The house was a common destination for police — a place where people with complex problems were housed on the government's dime for long stretches.
Several neighbours told CBC News they had installed security cameras to capture violent incidents around the emergency shelter. A man living across the road said he'd turned over his doorbell camera video on numerous occasions to investigators from the RNC.
"I, as a resident, without exaggerating, would say it's at least two calls a week — and that's been happening for well over two years," Josh Taylor told The St. John's Morning Show last Wednesday.
Residents in the area were in the process of scheduling a meeting with the police chief and ward councillor before the homicide happened. Kelly Hickey, who helped lead the charge for the neighbours, spoke with Chief Joe Boland on Friday — three days after her worst fears were realized.
Hickey said they were worried people in the house were not getting enough help from the government departments responsible for them.
Police are not expected to release more information yet, purposely keeping their cards close to their chest with "information sensitive to the investigation," RNC spokesperson James Cadigan told CBC News on Tuesday.
Police have suspects in Livingstone Street homicide
Meanwhile, Cadigan said police are following up with suspects in a killing on Livingstone Street in September.
Cyrus Clarke, 27, died four days after being stabbed in the area of Livingstone and Carter's Hill. Nobody has been charged in relation to his death.
Facebook posts show Clarke and Hapgood were friends, but police cannot say if the two deaths were linked in any way.
Police were also calling on the public to provide any dashcam or security video to help catch whoever was responsible for Clarke's death.
His family described him as a "bold, brave, kind-hearted, insightful" young man with a love for making music. They thanked the first responders and health-care professionals who tried to save his life.
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