On Friday, April 15, at 1:30 p.m., a man's body was recovered from a Bradford canal in the area of Simcoe Road and Canal Road by South Simcoe police.
After a post-mortem examination at the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, the victim has now been identified as 37-year-old Mojtaba Shabani. South Simcoe police confirmed his death was a homicide, but the cause of death has not been released.
Police have determined Shabani had ties to Toronto, but was believed to have lived a transient lifestyle and do not have a last known address at this time.
South Simcoe police Insp. Sheryl Sutton declined to say if he was previously known to police.
“We’re appealing to the public for any information relating to Mr. Shabani,” Sutton said. “We want to hear from anyone with information regarding his movements in the days and weeks prior to his death.”
Police are also seeking information regarding his next of kin or anyone who knew him.
Three vehicles have been identified as being linked to Shabani: a 2004 grey Honda Accord, a 2001 blue Honda Civic, and a 2003 red Volkswagen. All three vehicles are registered to Shabani and the police are in the process of trying to locate them.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, details of the investigation, including the cause of death, will not be released at this time,” said Sutton.
The body was discovered when a couple of kayakers on the canal saw a suspicious object and called police.
Sutton also declined to comment on the timeline around how long the body had been there, but did specify it was discovered “recently” after Shabani’s death.
“His lifestyle, anyone that might have known him, anyone that had contact with him in the weeks or days prior to his death. Any information that you may have, regardless of how small, please give us a call and the investigators can determine what, if any, bearing it may have on this investigation," she said.
Investigators are appealing to anyone with information to contact Det. Const. Andrew Smith at 905-775-3311, 705-436-2141, extension 1043, [email protected] or contact Crime Stoppers.
