A 55-year-old man was found lifeless in a home in downtown Montreal on Thursday morning, causing shock waves in the Golden Square Mile district.
Montreal police received a call around 8:30 a.m. regarding a man found unconscious in a home located at the intersection of avenue du Musée and rue Sherbrooke, not far from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the park of Mont-Royal, in the borough of Ville-Marie.
At the start of the day, the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) initially spoke of a “suspicious death”, but then confirmed that it was treating the case as a murder. So it is officially the 31ste murder to occur in the territory of the metropolis since the beginning of the year.
At the time of the macabre discovery, the victim’s body bore several marks of violence, according to the authorities. His death was also noted on the spot, when the first patrollers arrived.
According to our information, the man had a criminal record, but was not known to police circles. Sources told The Press that the victim’s name was Arthur Ketikyan. “We are talking about a murder on our side,” simply reiterated Sabrina Gauthier, public relations officer at the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM), when called to react.
Major Crimes investigators attended the scene to analyze the circumstances and exact causes of the event.
They met potential witnesses and combed the scene, but, despite this, the police had still not made any arrests by the end of the day and the motive for the crime remained unknown.
On social networks, the Peter-McGill district councilor, Serge Sasseville, announced that he had gone to the scene late in the afternoon. Avenue du Musée is still blocked by the SPVM. The investigation continues. When leaving the [musée], visitors are blinded by the numerous flashing lights of the numerous police vehicles. Our city center is pitiful,” he denounced.