The RCMP in southwestern Nova Scotia has released a video featuring the family of a man who was killed outside his home in 2020, hoping the recording will prompt someone to come forward with information about the unsolved homicide.
Investigators say Donny Lohnes, 57, was the target of an attack on Jippie Avenue in Pine Grove on Oct. 25, 2020.
RCMP Cpl. Chris Marshall, the team commander on the investigation, says police are hoping someone with information about the crime will come forward after seeing the video, which shows Lohnes’s mother and brother.
“Donny was a wonderful son. He was so loving and everybody loved him,” his mother, Jeanne Rhodenizer, said in the video.
His brother, Danny Lohnes, said Lohnes “thought the world” of everyone.
“He was a kind and giving person and all his friends and family know that, and unfortunately that was taken away,” he said.
According to the RCMP update, Lohnes was attacked outside his home by three people and lost consciousness. He suffered serious injuries but did not report the assault to police or seek medical attention.
“We believe Donny was targeted by his attackers and that those responsible for his death thought he was involved in a dispute he wasn’t connected to,” the RCMP release states.
His mother detailed how she found out through a phone call that Lohnes had been assaulted but returned to work. He was eventually taken to hospital and died from his injuries.
“When they took us in to see him, I was just — I almost fainted,” she said.
The family is appealing for answers.
Marshall says police have interviewed more than 125 people, four crime scenes have been examined, and the case has been added to the Nova Scotia Reward for Major Unsolved Crimes Program, which offers up to $150,000 for information leading to a conviction.
— with a file from The Canadian Press