Man assaulted in Vancouver park dies, police now investigating homicide
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Fri, 03 Jan 2020 21:40:58 +0000
Vancouver police are investigating a homicide after a 62-year-old man, who was assaulted in Oppenheimer Park on New Year’s Day, died Thursday.
Just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday, police responded to the park in the Downtown Eastside, where a man had been assaulted near the basketball court in the northeast corner of the park.
Jesus Cristobal-Esteban was taken to hospital by paramedics, where he fell unconscious. He died from his injuries the following day.
This is Vancouver’s first homicide of 2020.
The identity of the suspect isn’t known at this time. However, police believe the victim and suspect had some sort of interaction before the assault.
Cristobal-Esteban had a criminal record with multiple drug-related convictions dating to the late 1990s. In 1999, he was sentenced to three months in jail after being convicted on two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance.
Court records reveal no other charges or convictions since then.
Anyone with information is asked to call VPD homicide detectives at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
-With files from Scott Brown