Police Release – Kipps Lane Stabbing
On February 14 2009 at 3:55am, the London Police responded to the report of a stabbing in the parking lot of 1050 Kipps Lane. Upon arrival police located two 19 year old males suffering from stab wounds. Both of these males were transported to the hospital where one of them was pronounced deceased. The other males injuries are not life threatening and he is in stable condition. Further investigation at the scene led police officers to 194 Arbour Glen Crescent where there was evidence of a disturbance. Four adults and one young person were taken into custody at this location. Investigators are examining the scene at 1050 Kipps Lane and at 194 Arbour Glen Crescent. No charges have been laid at this time and the investigation is continuing. Investigators would like to speak to anyone who may have information about this incident, particularly events that occurred in the early morning hours at 194 Arbour Glen Crescent. Anyone with information is asked to contact the London Police Service at 519 661 5670 or Crimestoppers at 1 800 222 TIPS. You can also provide your tips online at www.londoncrimestoppers.com.
Appended 2009/02/14 @ 4:55 p.m:
The London Police Service continues to investigate the homicide that occurred at 194 Arbour Glen Crescent. The deceased male has been identified as Matthew Thomas Owen 19 years of London. A post mortem examination is underway at London Health Sciences Centre. Investigators are still appealing for anyone who was at 194 Arbour Glen Crescent during the evening of February 13 and the early morning hours of February 14 or anyone with knowledge of this incident to contact the London Police Service at 519 661 5670 or Crimestoppers at 1 800 222 TIPS. You can also provide your tips online at www.londoncrimestoppers.com.
Appended 2009/02/15 @ 11:30 a.m:
Police have continued to investigate the disturbance that resulted in a homicide at 194 Arbour Glen Crescent. Two adults and a young person who had been arrested have been released unconditionally. Jodie Elizabeth Hoogstra, 41 yrs, has been charged with one count of Possession of a Weapon Dangerous to the Public Peace. An 18 yr old male has been charged with one count of Breach of Probation which relates to a prior conviction under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The death of Matthew Owen remains under investigation.
Appended 2009/02/15 @ 7:50 p.m:
As a result of the investigation into the homicide that occurred at 194 Arbour Glen Crescent on February 14, 2009, Jodie Hoogstra, 41 yrs, has been charged with Second Degree Murder. The victim, Matthew Owen, died as a result of a stab wound to the neck. Investigators are still appealing to anyone with information about this incident to contact the London Police Service at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Information can also be provided through the Crime Stoppers website at www.londoncrimestoppers.com.
Appended 2009/02/16 @ 2:30 p.m:
To Clarify: In relation to the homicide investigation on Arbour Glen Cres, 19 year old Matthew OWEN of London died as a result of a stab wound to the neck. 41 year old Jody HOOGSTRA of London is charged with one count of Possession of a Weapon Dangerous to the Public Peace and one count of Second Degree Murder. An 18 year old male is charged with one count of Breach of Probation, which is not directly related to this incident. Three other persons who were arrested by police have since been released from custody without charges laid. The second victim in this matter was treated for his injuries and was released the same day from hospital. His name is not being released at this time. Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division, Major Crime Section, continue to investigate this matter.
© Fowler Media
That’s so sad. I used to live on Kipps and even though I never personally experienced any problems I heard about them all the time.
Ya, I suspect this incident will only be used as fuel for the egomaniacal aspirations of local complainers who make the area out to be the devils den.
John: Characterizing people as “complainers” is easier than refuting their assertions. Do you deny that the area has significant problems related to the comparatively low socio-economic status of many of it’s residents?
yes, its a poor neighbourhood.. thats why i live here, i can afford it.. but i can say with certainty that the vast majority of us poor people, even with our problems- dont go around wanting to stab people.. most of us are downright.. nice.
It will all boil down to drugs. Drug deal gone bad. It is sad, a kid dead because of a drug deal gone bad. Another basketball hoop in the hood is not going to fix it.
HP: Recreational opportunities that are afforded by things like basketball courts, skateboard parks, etc. may not be able to solve the problem all by themselves, but they are an important component of a healthy neighbourhood.
No, what they need is a good swift kick in the ass. What they need is to be taught the difference between right and wrong. What they need is someone to explain to them they are responsible for their actions, no matter how poor they are. Poverty is not an excuse for breaking the law. What they really need is parents, and it looks like that area is lacking in parents.
HP: I agree with you that the quality of a child’s upbringing does have an impact upon that individual’s character development. I also agree that poverty is not an excuse for unlawful behaviour. But it certainly does help to explain it. Look at any major North American city and the kind of crime that results from ghettoizing the poor and you’ll see the same thing. You may think that an “This is the law and you will obey it OR ELSE” approach should be sufficient, but it isn’t. Ignoring that reality won’t solve the problem. Multiple approaches are necessary, including the kind that I alluded to in my previous comment. That’s why, in addition to having been such a strong supporter of an increased police budget for many years, I’ve always been a strong proponent of funding for neighbourhood community centres/associations, etc. As for your closing remark, I think it’s unfair and very probably untrue to portray all of the parents in that area as being sub-standard (although there are undoubtedly some).
No doubt there are good parents in that hood. In my own experience, I have met more than a handful of parents, who encourage gangsta behaviour. You got a kid out of control, you don’t have to look any further than their parent(s) to see why. I am not talking about the kid who screws up once, maybe twice. I am talking about perpetual horrid behaviour. The ghettoization of the lower socio-economic classes, is what they do in all citites. It shouldn’t be, because it has been proven time and time again, ghetto’s are ruled by the most horrid of creatures. You can throw as much money as you want at a ghetto, but it is still going to be a ghetto. In affordable housing units, the good people have tried to get rid of the assholes, but the assholes ususally win, through intimidation, or with the help of some bleeding heart social worker.People with criminal records, fresh out of jail, get dibs on affordable housing. I have seen people try to clean up ghetto’s, but they are up against criminals and the social agencies, whom both make their living exploiting the poor.
HP: You started off by saying that this incident was all about drugs and in your last comment you characterized social workers as “bleeding hearts.” So I’m curious about your reaction to this story (from today’s FMBS ‘In The News’ index): Would a public health approach to illicit drugs reduce crime?
Significant problems is a relative idea. I lived there for two years and not once did I feel unsafe. The biggest problem according to some is mattresses in the bushes and discarded condoms. If that’s the worst Kipps Lane has to offer it’s pretty pathetic.
John: I’m not referring to litter. When I think about the problems in that area I think about stabbings, shootings, drug buys, prostitution, and home invasions. I’m happy that you didn’t encounter problems while you were there. At the same time, I wonder how much time you spent walking all around the neighbourhood as opposed to simply coming/going in your car?
I’m very familiar with the area Greg. Those sort of problems are no more prevalent in Kipps Lane then in any other part of the city. The idea that it’s that bad is perpetuated by people who either don’t live there, or are using fear to prop up their self aggrandizing.
Do we know with absolute certainty that drugs were involved or that the quality of this now deceased child’s upbringing was the root cause of his death? Even if this was indeed the case, I am very sure that he most certainly did not deserve this, as I am absolutely sure that his parents are suffering beyond belief at this very moment, and would probably appreciate our empathy rather than the finger pointing that is currently going on. Time for this much later on.
Leaving aside the veiled attacks from some posters obviously directed at me…
[Ed: David, if anybody believes that they're being maligned either directly or indirectly on this site then they're welcome to contact me and make their case. I promise that I'll seriously consider the complaint. I don't welcome those kinds of assertions in public comments because they normally only succeed in starting flame wars. I've removed your other similar comment and I'll send you an email and discuss it further with you. Note: I will not allow any retaliatory comment from the other posters in this thread. The matter has been dealt with (unless I find that there's substance to the complaint).]
I willl go back to what I learned while earning two university degrees: quantitative research.
In June 2006 the LPS did a month long Project on Kipps Lane that resulted in 43 arrests and charges. A large number of them involved the Criminal Code. The Project involved one short month. Go back and research the Project. It was reported heavily on the A Channel. I had nothing to do with it. A detailed analysis of it was given by Superintendent Merryleess at the Kipps Lane Community Association Candidates Meeting at Ross in Sept. of 2006 which Greg attended.
R.I.P MATT….never forgoten homie… cant belive that happend
sickgirl: I agree with you that the parents would likely appreciate expressions of sympathy from the community. As for finger pointing, this site has a policy of not allowing accusations against identifiable individuals which can’t be proven. However, the area in question does appear to have some significant problems, and it’s not inappropriate for those to be addressed. Nothing will be achieved by ignoring them.
David: I’m not sure that I understand the purpose of your comment. Are you suggesting that the one-month duration of the project wasn’t long enough? Do you want us to review the A-Channel coverage and, if so, can you provide URLs? What was the purpose of saying that you didn’t have anything to do with the LPS project? Why would anybody assume that you did?
No where in that story did I see mention of drugs.
I have lived in the Kipps Lane are for over 10 years now. I have often gone for walks at all hours, day and night. Not once was I ever accosted for more than spare change.
I don’t think it matters much what the neighbourhood is. If there is a low income housing project there, you will find crime. As stated earlier, people just getting out of jail get 1st dibs. (I don’t know if that is true, but it seems so). My answer would be to NOT have low income housing projects, but to have low income housing spread about the city.
As a parent of a teen in this neighbourhood I am fearful of my son’s associations. He is a good kid, but he could also be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every day he is “out there” I am in fear. Not because of this neighbourhood, but because of the state of the world in general.
My bleeding heart goes out to the parents. I cannot imagine a greater sorrow than losing a child.
Randy Yeo
I help run Neon Crab Tattoos & Piercing, a fairly new business in the plaza on Kipps.
I don’t yet live in the area, but next year, my fiancee and I intend to buy a house that will be in rollerblading distance from our business. I’m very selective as to where I wish to buy, because of all the stories I hear about the entire area.
I have friends who just off Edenridge, and they complain now, since the bridge was built, vandelism is skyrocketing! They’ve had thier car broken into, home attempted, and just about everynight, in the snow, they see footprints up to thier back window of their house. THAT’S SCARY!
Do we keep pushing low-rentals together so they can feed off of eachother’s anger towards the system? I don’t know that answer.
I know that where I live now, I’m in low-rental housing, and I can’t wait to get out!! People here, hate it here. We all want to live in a nice, clean, safe area, but then some bum gets moved in right next to you, and they let their kids run amuck, causing property damage, mouthing off to everyone they see! But this happens in every neighbour hood. Eventually, you get a bunch of low-rentals together, you have trouble. However, you can spread them out through the city, and home owners will then be all up in arms, because low-rental housing, brings down the value of their house.
Plus: We do blame alot of the problems on low-rentals, but very expensive neighbourhoods also have issues. I don’t know if they have as many issues, but they do none the less.
So, what’s the answer? I don’t know.
I do know about a group for the Kipps Lane area,
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http://www3.sympatico.ca/dimitrie/
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I was thinking when we’ve had the shop open for one year, I’ll contact these people, and see what I can do to help out. Maybe it’s a start?
Being a tattoo shop, we see the good and bad but don’t have any problems with people. I think many people are intimidated by tattoo shops… however, that’s not the profile we wish to have. We’re a safe place. And we wish to promote growth in that neighbourhood. Growth of better housing, new businesses and a safer community.
Welcome to the neighbourhood, Kaz. I’ll stop in and say hi one day.
Randy: You’re comment about ghettos is bang on! Wherever municipalities have plunked significant numbers of low-income people down in social housing projects the same problems have reoccurred. Over and over. It’s a failed approach. I would much sooner see a manageable number of assisted-rent spaces in commercial properties, as often as that opportunity is available. I’d like to see the feds allow mortgage deductability from income tax. I’d like to see the feds introduce a Guaranteed Annual Income and scrap all the other social assistance programs and their associated huge costs. I’d like to see a tighter reign on urban sprawl which allows the more affluent to escape (lower-income citizens) to suburbia thanks to the city’s massive support of private automobile transit. And that’s just for starters.
Kaz: You’re correct that higher-income neighbourhoods also still have problems. Just a lot fewer of them. Because the pride of ownership and community is greater. That’s why we have to take more of a bottom-up approach to building healthy communities.
Randy & Kaz: Welcome to this neighbourhood to the both of you
Thanks.
See you soon.
I am close to the deceased and I can tell you that he had one loving, caring step-parent who tried to keep him on the straight and narrow and was a constant in his life. His father, who did not raise him, but saw him from time to time was devastated at his passing. His mother, who has also been in and out of his life, was also devastated. He was not short on love, but the lack of parental support from his own blood relatives surely had some impact.
I wish there was a way that children like this could receive more support. After all, they are force to live in poverty through no choice of their own – but through the choices of their parents. That he had a step-father willing to care for him, give him a place to live, and love him has his own, is a tribute to the man.
I am worried about his younger sister right now because she too appears to be becoming indoctrinated into a “tough” culture of survival that requires hand-to-hand fighting, even among girls. It’s “kill or be killed” among some.
Matt was called from his home in the middle of the night to help a friend who was being beaten. He was asked to help and he did. A 41 year old woman is alleged to have killed him. How this happened, I don’t know. Why she may have killed him, I don’t know.
What I do know is that despite his inconstant upbringing, living in poverty, living in a culture that forces young children to put on a “tough” facade to survive, it WAS NOT HE who caused the stabbing.
What were the forces that may have caused this grown woman to kill a young boy? We should be focusing on her and NOT on the victim.
[Ed: Nothing has been proven in a court of law, and that's why I've added the qualifiers.]