The mother of a man who was fatally stabbed last month wants to know why one of the suspects charged in the killing was still living in the same Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) building as her son, despite being charged last year for an earlier stabbing at the same address.
Sophie Johnson has been desperately hunting for answers since her son Omar Jonathan Grant, 25, was left bleeding in a hallway of the seven-storey building on St. Laurent Boulevard on Feb 15.
Paramedics say he was found in cardiac arrest.
“I’m not the mother that will sit back and not find out why my son died,” said Johnson, who called her son “Omie.”
Police have charged two men in the killing: Jacob Blanchard, 25, is charged with second-degree murder and assault with a weapon. A warrant has also been issued for the arrest of Samuel Laurin-Gauvreau, also 25, who is facing the same charges.
CBC News has learned Blanchard was already facing assault and weapons-related charges for a non-fatal stabbing in the same OCH building last March. CBC News has also confirmed Blanchard was out on bail and still living in the building when Grant was killed.
Johnson said she wants to know how that was allowed to happen after the previous stabbing, which paramedics say left the victim in critical condition.
“My son could have been still here today,” Johnson said.
Victim was ‘very protective’
Johnson described her first-born son as a joker who grew up loving football and always looked out for others.
“He was very protective over his friends and his family,” she said.
“He was always outside,” recalled Jesse Howe, one of Grant’s childhood friends. “He had a lot of life in him and he was always adventuring, looking for new adventures and new people.”
Howe said he and Grant spent their childhoods running around their neighbourhood, often conspiring to gather enough change to buy candy at Moe’s Convenience on Cyrville Road.
He said Grant, despite being two years younger, was always the one taking care of those around him, even when bullies were involved. Howe said his friend wouldn’t back down from a fight, but was never the instigator.
“That showed us that there was not really much to be scared about,” Howe said.
‘I dropped and I cried’
Johnson said she last spoke with her son over the phone on the day he died, but he was drunk and acting unpleasantly. Still, she thought little of the exchange. An hour later, Grant was dead.
She woke up to police officers knocking on her door early the next morning.
“They didn’t even have to tell me,” she said. “I knew…. I screamed out for my husband, and I dropped and I cried.”
While her son could be hard-headed and had a tough edge, Johnson said he was fundamentally a good person. She said Grant had no apartment of his own so he stayed with a friend at the OCH building. The friend was also assaulted during the altercation, she said.
Johnson said she’d hoped her son would come back to live with her one day.
“We did not see eye to eye on things, and I had young children so I had to get my son to not live with us until he learned to respect my rules,” she said. “I will always have to regret my decision.”
OCH saddened by stabbing
Johnson said police told her the two men who came to the fourth floor that night didn’t come knocking on Grant’s door, but on the door across the hall. She said Grant’s roommate opened the door to check on the commotion, leading to a confrontation.
“To my knowledge, it was just the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said. “If he didn’t open the door … it’s a possibility there would be no conflict.”
CBC News spoke with other tenants of the OCH building who described a sense of unease following the killing. One said many residents were already living in fear of some neighbours.
OCH said it’s unable to share specific details regarding the incident due to the ongoing homicide investigation and privacy concerns, but said it’s deeply saddened by the incident.
“OCH is actively engaging with tenants, collaborating with community partners to connect those in need with necessary supports, and working with local leaders to address concerns,” the city’s community housing agency said in an emailed statement, adding it’s fully co-operating with the police investigation.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act — by which OCH and other housing providers in Ontario are bound — a landlord must apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to obtain an eviction order, and the tenant being evicted has the right to a hearing.
On Friday, the LTB said it conducted a search of its records dating back to Dec. 1, 2021, and found no active or closed files involving Jacob Blanchard.
