Man killed in Beltline remembered as neighbourhood fixture

Howard Gordon Hunter, 67, was fatally assaulted in Tomkins Park over the weekend and is being remembered as a well-known and eccentric figure in Calgary's Beltline neighbourhood.

Police responded Saturday to reports of an assault in the 800 block of 17th Avenue S.W. and found a man in medical distress. Despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified him Monday.

Danny James Turkitch, 68, has been charged with manslaughter. Turkitch is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. Police have not confirmed the cause of death nor the nature of the relationship between Hunter and Turkitch.

Calgary playwright and author Eugene Stickland, who knew Hunter for more than a decade, described him as a passionate admirer of artists and poets like Patti Smith and Jackson Pollock, whom he would speak about as if they were friends. A memorial tribute with handwritten notes and flowers has been set up at Tomkins Park near where Hunter died.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Calgary police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.