william george ruptash › deadmonton 2007 › deadmonton › edmonton

William George Ruptash, 63, was found dead April 24th, 2007. Cause of death was blood loss from a stab wound to the neck and he may have died several days before being discovered.

Ruptash was Edmonton's eleventh homicide victim of the year.

Case status is open and active.

At about 3:30 p.m. on April 24th, 2007 a man's body was discovered in a sixth-floor suite of the downtown Capital Tower highrise at 10028 106 Avenue.

At the request of the man's girlfriend who hadn't heard from the man recently, the apartment building's manager entered Suite 610 and discovered a badly beaten body.

Police were called and homicide detectives took over the investigation. The man's death was immediately considered to be a homicide.

Authorities identified the man as 63-year-old William George Ruptash – better known as "Willy" to his neighbours.

There were “obvious signs of trauma to his body” and “bloodletting” in the suite, police said.

There were also signs the man's door had been forced open and that he may have been dead for several days but police refused media comment on those issues. Ruptash lived alone.

Early reports indicate the man's injuries were "acute and consistent with a beating." An autopsy revealed the cause of death was blood loss from a stab wound to the neck. The Edmonton Journal reported his throat had been slit.

Police have sought the public's help in piecing together Ruptash's last movements. A spokesman said Ruptash was last seen April 19th.

“The difficulty we're having is establishing when Mr. Ruptash was last seen,” Det. Peter Draganiuk told media.

“He's an individual who would go out and walk around and socialize with people. We need people to come forward and talk to us about this individual.”

“We don't believe it's a random attack. We believe the attacker or attackers may have been known to him.”

"At this point we've got preliminary information but we're asking for anybody that may know Mr. Ruptash or has seen him – he goes by the name 'Willy' – apparently he's a retired individual who sticks to himself and doesn't have a lot of activities outside of his home."

Draganiuk said he had no information if there were indications robbery in the suite.

The detective also said Ruptash was not involved in organised crime or the drug trade.

"We've had some contact with him, but nothing that raises any flags or concerns," Draganiuk said.

Police described Ruptash as a Caucasian male, 5-feet 5-inches tall, brown eyes and brown/gray hair, with a graying moustache.

Those with information about Ruptash or the circumstances surrounding his death are asked to contact Edmonton police at 423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.tipsubmit.com - a secure tip submission web site.

As police were showing photographs of Ruptash to persons in the downtown's low income area, local newspapers and electronic media were also out in force digging into the man's background.

“Bad things happen to good people. He's a nice guy,” a man claiming to be the building's owner told media.

Allen Bykewich, who lived across the hall from Ruptash, told the Edmonton Sun that around 1:00 p.m. on April 24th a woman was banging on the door of the dead man's suite and yelling.

When she couldn't get an answer, she called the building manager who then called police. The manager told the Sun that police later told the woman not to comment on what she saw.

57-year-old Margaret Holy Whiteman, who lived down the hall from Ruptash's suite, often played cards with the man.

"Who would want to harm him?" she wondered. "He's so nice and friendly. He tells me jokes. He's not the type to be causing any trouble."

Holy Whiteman added that Ruptash was a heavy drinker.

Living one floor below Ruptash, David Christoph used to see him two or three times a month at the pub across the street.

"He's a pretty frail old man. A nice old guy, that's for sure," Christoph said.

Ruptash never spoke of any family and seemed to stay in his apartment watching television most of the time, Christoph said.

"We used to shoot pool. I bought him a beer once in a while. He's a really nice guy. I think you'll get that from a lot of people. He was really genteel."

David, a Capital Tower resident who didn't give his last name, said the highrise is nicknamed "Crack Tower."

On May 4th, 2007 the Edmonton Sun followed up with progress in the investigation.

“Information has been very slow coming in,” Det. Peter Draganiuk told the paper.

“Somebody who's done this is not going to keep it to themselves. They're going to tell somebody,” Draganiuk added.

Killers sometimes brag or talk about their crimes, he said.

Investigators developed one theory that Ruptash met someone at one of his regular haunts and invited them back up to his suite for a drink before he was slain.

“It was a pretty vicious, cowardly attack, as far as I'm concerned,” said Draganiuk. “It was just an attack on this fellow and it's puzzling, it's very puzzling.”

Detectives have not established a motive and still don't know exactly when Ruptash was attacked. Unconfirmed reports indicated he was seen alive as late as April 22nd.

Police appealed to anyone with any information about Ruptash or his homicide to call Det. Dennis McGeady at 421-3394 or Det. Peter Draganiuk at 421-3423.

The Capital Tower building is no stranger to murder.

On October 6th, 2004 53-year-old Clarence Burton was found unconscious in a fourth-floor hallway of the downtown highrise.

Police said they believed Burton was assaulted in the building, the result of a fight over a $20 cocaine debt.

Burton died in hospital of a head injury, a fracture to the back of his skull and bleeding on the brain.

Medical evidence could not determine whether Burton's injuries were the result of a punch to the head or a spontaneous brain bleed from crack cocaine.

40-year-old Fred Joseph Reed was charged with manslaughter after being arrested a few days later.

"Apparently they partied together," a police spokesman said. "They were known fairly well to each other as well. They were fairly close acquaintances."

During the trial, court heard that Burton was either knocked down or fell to the floor on his own.

A jury believed the latter and Reed was acquitted.

deadmonton 2007 - william george ruptash