deadmonton 2007 - robert wayne joy
Robert Wayne Joy, 48, was stabbed to death January 9th, 2007.
Joy was Edmonton's second homicide victim of the year.
Wesley David Lorne Cairn-Duff, 41, was charged with second-degree murder and possession of a weapon.
Just before 8:00 a.m. on January 9th, 2007 police were called in connection with a possible stabbing in a home located at 12035 64 Street in northwest Edmonton.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Upon arrival, officers found a man in his late 40s dead in the residence. Sources said he was stabbed in the back.
 |
 |
 |
Two people were taken in for questioning by police, one described at the time as a possible suspect and the other a witness. One source identified the man pictured on the right as the owner of the home.
On January 10th, 2007 Edmonton police identified the victim as Robert Wayne Joy, 48, of Edmonton. They wouldn't say if he was an occupant or a visitor of the house.
 |
Police also announced that second-degree murder and possession of a weapon charges were laid against 41-year-old Wesley David Lorne Cairn-Duff in connection with Joy's death.
An autopsy was scheduled for January 11th, 2007.
 |
Cairn-Duff also made his first court appearance that day but unfortunately his lawyer didn't show up. The 41-year-old man was expected to enter a plea within a week.
Residents of the Montrose neighbourhood freely gave interviews to media and spoke of the house and its occupants that had become the focus of police attention.
Some area residents claimed those who lived there were involved in the drug trade.
"Nobody visits for more than 10 minutes at a time," said one nearby neighbour who didn't want to be named.
"Hookers even [visit]," she claimed. "I can tell a hooker. When they weigh 90 pounds wet, coming to get their fix, drugs, probably."
The house is two blocks north of Edmonton's 118th Avenue strip, notorious as an area used by sex-trade workers.
Leia Bru, who lived across the street from the house, told media of the morning that emergency services took over the street.
 |
 |
"I was sleeping and I heard like a siren and I woke up and I saw the cops cars and ambulances."
"That house seemed to have some issues like domestic disputes – like they were yelling and screaming at each other."
"One time I heard like a woman's voice screaming 'Help me, please someone help me' and we went outside and couldn't see anything."
"And then a few nights later we heard screaming again and it seemed to come from that house and that yard."
"In the summer they used to have really loud arguments late at night, but it's been pretty quiet for the last few weeks."
Bru said she wasn't sure who lived in the house.
"There was people moving in and out of it all the time because I've seen a lot of things going in and out like they were moving."
Chris Tapia, who lived next door, said he had concerns about the apparent drug activities in the house.
"I knew something's up in that house."
Asked if he noticed a lot of people visiting the residence Tapia said, "Yeah, in and out all the time, in the back, late at night and stuff like that."
Neighbours said they were unclear about how many people lived in the modest home and said the homeowner had been renting out several of its rooms.
Area resident Helen Kooyman said she knew a man who lived in the house for years and stated that he grew up in the house.
"He was a very nice guy. I hope this isn't him that's been hurt."
The death of Robert Joy was the second tragedy his family has dealt with in recent years.
On September 5th, 2001 Robert's 41-year-old brother Nick died after falling out of a moving van on Mayfield Road and 170th Street [earlier reports said it happened on Stony Plain Road].
 |
 |
No charges were ever laid in connection with Nick's death but the Joy family believed it was drug-realted.
Wayne Joy, Robert and Nick's younger brother, spoke with various media outlets.
 |
 |
"And you kind of wonder, like ... what was going through his mind when he was fighting for the last few moments of his life?"
"What was going on? And somebody stabbed him to death ... nobody around to help him. What goes through a person's mind?"
"Brothers are supposed to be there for each other – and they're not there anymore."
"And it hurts really bad – you can't describe what the pain is like, you can't describe how it feels."
"It's just pain ... I wouldn't want anybody to go through what I'm going through."
Robert Joy had two children with a common-law wife he broke up with about eight years ago.
His son is now 18 years old, his daughter 17, and Joy kept in touch with them by phone.
"He loved them with a passion," Wayne said.
Joy had done landscaping and other labour jobs, including working in the oil patch. He had a table at the flea market at 118th Avenue and 66th Street for the last year, offering to rebuild computers and sell tools.
He suffered permanent injuries from two bike accidents a year apart, once being hit by a taxi and once by a half-ton truck, and wasn't able to work.
"He had titanium plates put into his head," Wayne said. "Doctors said any further head trauma would be fatal."
Joy had once been charged with assaulting a police officer but the charge was withdrawn in July 2006.
Joy's parents last saw their son at the flea market about two weeks ago prior to his death.
They told Wayne that Joy looked tired, with the hepatitis B he was suffering from showing its effects. His five-foot-two, 115-pound frame wasn't holding up well from the injuries.
"He was in really bad shape, with constant headaches," Wayne said. "He was a small, gentle man and couldn't have defended himself against anyone trying to stab him."
"Your grandma could beat him up."
Joy moved around a lot over the last two years, often staying with friends. Wayne had repeatedly warned his brother about the people he was hanging around with.
"My wife and I told him years ago he'd fallen in with the wrong crowd. I think he was killed over something to do with drugs," he said.
Joy's parents were devastated, but Wayne made a point of saying he forgave whoever was responsible for his brother's slaying.
"I'm without brothers now. The people who did this [Nick's death] and my brother Bob – I forgive them for it, I do. Because I can't hate."
Robert's death leaves Wayne with two sisters aged 45 and 49.
A memorial service for Robert Wayne Joy was to be held in Edson’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church on January 20th at 11:00 a.m.
The Edmonton Sun published an interview with Krista Cairn-Duff, the ex-wife of the man accused of Joy's murder.
The woman told the Sun her 13-year marriage "disintegrated" over Wesley's drug abuse.
She said she lived with Cairn-Duff until December 2005 with their four kids, now aged five to 13.
It was about that time he moved to the house where Robert Joy's body was found.
Krista said her ex-husband had been recently been e-mailing her. He claimed he wanted to escape the drug scene but was being threatened with violence if he did.
"I didn't know what to believe," Krista said, wanting proof her former husband was trying to change his ways.
Before the couple split they operated a cleaning company and lived in a house across the alley from the January 9th crime scene.