A death initially thought to be non-criminal is now being investigated as a homicide, more than a year after the victim died.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024, Dwight Bennett went into medical distress at a unit in Blue Quill Garden Apartments in southwest Edmonton (12025 – 25 Ave.)
EMS responded and took the 39-year-old to hospital, where he died later that day.
“Given the initial call for service was deemed medical, there was no police involvement at the time,” the Edmonton Police Service said on Thursday.
A few weeks after his death, a funeral was held and Bennett was buried in an Edmonton cemetery. His obituary said he was survived by his parents, two brothers and three sisters.
“He loved life, his work, and his time spent in Jamaica,” the obituary said. “He loved his family unconditionally. He will be sadly missed and forever in our hearts.”
The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Lodge 146 said Bennett had been a member of the union for eight years before his death.
Everyone believed his death was non-criminal until police said they received new information this past May.
Police did not say what that information was, only that it prompted homicide detectives to meet with the medical examiner to re-investigate the initial sudden death.
Bennett’s body was exhumed and a second autopsy was performed on July 30, 2025.
Police said that’s when Bennett’s death was ruled a homicide. His cause of death is being withheld for investigative purposes.
Homicide detectives are now asking the public for tips.
“Although this homicide is now over a year old, we believe someone out there knows something,” homicide section acting Insp. Rob Bilawey said.
“Even the smallest piece of information could be the key to helping us understand what happened to Dwight.
“We’re urging anyone with knowledge about his death to come forward—no detail is too minor.”
Anyone with information about Bennett’s death is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone.
Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers online or at 1-800-222-8477.