Edmonton woman makes tearful plea for brother's killers to come forward

The sister of a man beaten to death last year by a group of attackers wielding baseball bats made a tearful plea for those with information about the killing to come forward.

"I'm absolutely convinced someone out there knows what happened to him … someone who has a conscience, someone who has a heart," said Kim Thompson, whose brother Kelly Thompson died April 16, 2016.

"We're looking for you to come forward."

Kelly Thompson, 34, was attacked on April 14, 2016 after he got out of his vehicle near 137th Street and 115th Avenue.

His sister said he had driven to the area to help a friend who was having car trouble.

Police said four or five suspects wearing dark clothing and hoods got out of another vehicle and allegedly struck him multiple times with baseball bats before fleeing the area.

Thompson was found in critical condition. He died two days later in hospital as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

Standing next to her mother, Linda Linton, at the southeast division police station, Kim Thompson said her younger brother was always "the life of the room."

"He was always laughing, always having fun. He loved kids, he loved animals. He loved to play guitar and music," she said. "We loved him dearly."

Thompson said she doesn't know if her brother knew his attackers. She called them cowards.

"My message to you, the people who murdered my brother: we're getting close and we are going to find you all. Please do the right thing and turn yourself into police. My family will not rest until justice is served."

Since her son was killed, Linton has barely left the house and has struggled with sleep and anxiety.

"It's been very difficult, a piece of my heart is gone," she said.

In December, eight months after the attack, police released a photo of a light-coloured SUV with tinted windows that might have been involved in the attack.