Autopsy determines 2022 Edmonton homeless shelter death a homicide

Edmonton Police Service vehicle.

A suspicious death that occurred at an Edmonton homeless shelter more than two years ago has been ruled a homicide.

Thomas Gignac, 54, died on Jan. 3, 2022, of blunt-force trauma to the head combined with pre-existing medical conditions, with the manner of death determined to be homicide, according to an autopsy completed in November that year.

Police responded to a report of an assault at the shelter near 100 Street and 105A Avenue at 1:30 a.m. that morning. Paramedics treated Gignac at the scene and took him to hospital, where he died.

The Edmonton Police Service on Jan. 6, 2022, charged a now-33-year-old man with manslaughter in the case.

The EPS in a media release on Tuesday said due to the delay in receiving the updated autopsy report in November 2022, a news release detailing it was missed.

Initial autopsy findings, police said, were released to the public on Feb. 11, 2022, but the suspect's name and charge were withheld pending the final autopsy report.