News

A homeless man whose slain corpse was found in an industrial recycling container in Toronto this week has been identified as Andre Pelliccione, a convicted robber who took part in a $3.1-million heist of a Loomis armoured car in Etobicoke in 1995.

Det. Sgt. Gary Grinton of Toronto police said Mr. Pelliccione, 41, was beaten to death in a storage yard on Lakeshore Boulevard East near Cherry Street by five squatters, one of whom did odd jobs at the yard and had after-hours access to it.

The body was found sealed in a recycling bin on Wednesday.

The suspects did not live or camp in the storage yard, but would "frequent the particular area to enjoy the night life," said homicide Detective John Biggerstaff. They were believed to take drugs and drink alcohol on site, he added.

A dispute broke out between the suspects and a lone man between the night of Aug. 21 and the morning of Aug. 23, and the man wound up dead and sealed in an industrial-size recycling bin. Police recovered the body after a woman told them of the death.

"A lot of people come forward with feelings of guilt and shame, but my experience generally is it's not that common," Det. Biggerstaff said.

Toronto residents Jennifer Dunsford, 30, and Richard Alex Sheridan, 46, face charges of first-degree murder and were remanded in custody yesterday. Police continue to hunt for three suspects, who Det. Biggerstaff believes are still in the city. There has not been an outpouring of tips about the slaying, but that is not surprising, he added.

"It was not committed anywhere in public view, and it was committed in an area with little or no public access. I don't expect there'd be any outside witnesses."

Peter Selby, clinical director of addictions programs at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, said it is problematic when the public hears about such crimes, with no names or ages of victims, and learns only that those charged are allegedly drug users. That affects perceptions of drug and alcohol abuse, which prevents other drug abusers from seeking treatment and could lead to further addiction or crime, he said.

"Then, that stigma walks around with them when they try to access services, [and people] think about them as criminals and don't treat them as well. It snowballs," Dr. Selby said. "It's a fascinating social commentary about how stigma can stop people from seeking help."

It is the fourth homicide investigation opened in as many days.

Also on Wednesday, the homicide squad took over investigating the death of Tina Picoulas, 19, of Niagara Falls, found three months ago in a room at an Etobicoke hotel. The case had previously been considered a suspicious death rather than a homicide.

Just before 7 a.m. Tuesday, a passerby discovered the body of Caxtons Kyeremeh, 19, on the front lawn of a Scarborough home. He had been shot in the head, and police believe he had been there for several hours.

Two days earlier, Evan Andrew Rouse, 22, was found dead near a North York bike path. He also died of gunshot wounds.