Port Alberni RCMP have identified the 75-year-old man who was found dead in his residence Friday.
Marvin Edmund Hankins, 75, was found dead in his Fourth Avenue home by a relative on Jan. 13, RCMP Cpl. Jen Allan said.
The death is the city's first homicide of 2012.
Hankins was the former caretaker of the GK Apartments on Fourth Avenue, which is also known locally as the ghetto. The building is located one block from Hankins' residence.
"He (Hankins) hasn't been the caretaker for five months," new building owner Paul Soroya said. "I met him once since I recently bought the property from a local guy and I'm sorry to hear that this has happened."
Police consider Hankins' death suspicious, and the local police general investigative section as well as Island major crimes unit are involved in the investigation.
No suspect has been identified yet, and witnesses continue to be interviewed and leads followed, Allan said.
Police are not linking the death with other recent police incidents in Alberni, such as the home invasion and robbery of 83-year-old Reino Koivunen on Jan. 10.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com