Couple killed after ‘dispute’ with landlord planned to move out

Man and woman in their 20s shot outside their residence

They were planning to move out of their basement apartment at the end of this month before they were shot dead in an alleged dispute with their landlord.

The young couple killed outside their Stoney Creek home over the weekend had planned to end their tenancy at 322 Jones Rd., a detached house just north of Barton Street, by June 1, Hamilton police Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk told The Spectator Monday. He declined to say whether the move was connected to Saturday night’s killings.

The 57-year-old landlord who lived upstairs — the suspect in the slayings — was killed during an exchange of gunfire with a police officer after he barricaded himself inside the home, said the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

Both Hamilton police and the SIU, which probes incidents involving police in Ontario where someone dies, is seriously hurt or there is an

allegation of sexual assault, are investigating.

Police have described the incident that led to the shootings as a “landlord-tenant dispute.”

Bereziuk told reporters Sunday it was “some type of dispute regarding the state of the home,” but not over a missed rental payment. On Monday, he declined to provide further detail, but said more information may be available “in the coming days.”

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board said no applications had been filed within the last two years about the Jones Road property.

Police have notified the victims’ families, but are not releasing their names at this time, Bereziuk said.

The 28-year-old man was an electrician in Hamilton. The 27-year-old woman was an educational assistant with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, a board spokesperson confirmed Monday.

The couple were engaged to be married.

“Our prayers are with her family and with all individuals impacted by this tragic situation,” Tracey Austin, BHNCDSB manager of communications and community relations, said in an email.

The school community has been notified, and support is available for students and staff, “who are feeling this incredible loss,” she said.

Mayor Andrea Horwath expressed on Twitter her “condolences and concern.”

“I am very saddened to hear about this senseless tragedy and my heart goes out to the families of the victims,” she wrote.

On Monday, investigators could be seen coming in and out of the house at the corner of Jones and Cornell Avenue. The garage of the detached home was open, with the door bent and crumpled. Through the wide-open front door, a large blood stain could be seen on a door on the opposite wall.

Sandra Chaisson, a neighbour two doors down, previously told The Spec the man who owned the Jones Road home purchased the property, which once belonged to her grandparents, from her family. Property records obtained by The Spectator show the residence was purchased by Terry Brekka in March 2003.

Neither the police nor SIU have identified the suspect.

Chaisson said Brekka, who she described as “quiet” and “reclusive,” was living in the house with his girlfriend.

Police have said the man had several firearms registered to him at that address, including handguns and rifles, though it’s unclear exactly how many or how much ammunition they found in the home.

Bereziuk told The Spec Monday he couldn’t comment further on the suspect due to the SIU’s involvement.

The SIU didn’t respond to a request for comment by Monday evening.

Neighbours Kole Jacusiw and his girlfriend, Noaha Ryckman, said they heard gunfire and “someone scream.”

Ryckman said she saw “a woman on the ground,” who she assumed was dead.

The pair said they saw someone come out and walk back into the house, and later a person on the roof with flashlights. There was more gunfire, Ryckman said. Then, it “came to an abrupt end,” Jacusiw said.

“It was pretty scary,” he said.