Family of Richmond homicide victim appeals for help
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 19:50:22 +0000
The family of homicide victim Michael Thompson, who was killed last year in Richmond, is appealing for help with the investigation.
On Sept. 20, 2018, shortly after 8:30 a.m., the body of Thompson, 37, was found inside an abandoned house in the 9100-block of Odlin Road in Richmond.
The responding officers found injuries on his body consistent with homicide and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team was called in to take over the case.
Thompson’s only sister Tina Visentin appealed for help solving the homicide. She said “Mikey” was outgoing, friendly and loved fishing.
“I want people to know my brother was not always having hard times. He had a good job, he made good money, but unfortunately the opiate world got hold of him and took him down a different path,” she said, at an RCMP news conference on Wednesday.
“Mike had a family who loved and cared for him. He was trying to sort his life out. The people who murdered Mike took a piece from the people who cared and loved him.”
IHIT says investigators have learned that Thompson’s last confirmed location before his death was at the McDonald’s restaurant attached to the Walmart Super Centre at 9251 Alderbridge Way in Richmond at around 11:10 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2018.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the last confirmed location of 37-year-old Michael Thompson was at the McDonald’s restaurant attached to the Walmart Super Centre at 9251 Alderbridge Way in Richmond on Sept. 19, 2018.
He was wearing a black baseball cap turned backwards, a black jacket with a grey hoodie underneath, blue jeans, and blue and red Nike runners.
IHIT says Thompson left the McDonald’s on a blue and black mountain bike towing a grey and blue bike trailer.
IHIT spokesman Sgt. Frank Jang says they are aware if several individuals who have “full knowledge” of what happened to Thompson that night but are not co-operating with investigators.
“We need them to provide us a statement of what they know so that we can advance Michael’s investigation,” he said.
“We recognize that some witnesses may be worried for their own safety and we want to reassure them that IHIT will address their concerns and treat them with the utmost respect.”
Visentin urged anyone with information about what happened to her brother to contact police. She believes his friends may not have told the police the whole story.
“I know you might be scared, but I ask you, please do the right thing, this was an innocent life taken for no reason. This was my brother and me and my family want justice and closure,” she said.