The OPP hopes a new video might stir someone’s memory and shed some light on help their investigation into the unsolved murder of Jonus Palmer last summer.
With appeals from his parents John and Paulette Palmer urging the public to come forward with any information they might have, the video recounts the 24-year-old Tay Township man’s murder and its aftermath for those left behind.
The investigation began on Monday, July 5 at approximately 11 p.m. when Southern Georgian Bay OPP officers responded to an incident at a residence on Old Fort Road in Tay Township. Officers located Palmer’s body outside the home where he had been staying with friends.
A post-mortem examination conducted two days later at the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto confirmed the cause of death was a gunshot wound.
At the time, police said that there was no threat to the general public as Palmer’s murder was “not believed to be a random incident.” Investigators did make an arrest at the scene, but it was unrelated to the homicide.
In the video, police note there were several other occupants at the residence that night. The residence where these tragic events unfolded has since been sold and its current owners have no connection to the investigation.
Det. Insp. Jennifer Patton, the OPP's criminal investigations branch major case manager, outlined Palmer’s murder and noted that the OPP has interviewed dozens of witnesses, who have provided information about Jonus’s death.
“However, we believe there are other witnesses who also have important information,” Patton said, urging those witnesses to come forward to help give Jonus’s family closure.
Patton said police want to reassure Jonus's family and the Midland-area community that they are using every available resource to identify the person or persons responsible for Jonus's death."
Through tears, Paulette Palmer added: “What would you do if this happened to your child and no one came forward? Help our family heal.”
Palmer described her son as a gentle soul, who was bigger than most kids so he was always taught to be gentle and kind. She also fondly recalled a happier time when as a boy Jonas enjoyed sitting in his father’s transport truck and talking on the CB to her father.
“Jonus was very outgoing, he was full of energy, he was full of life,” John Palmer said.
Jonus attended Saint-Antoine Daniel Catholic School in Victoria Harbour during his elementary years and then St. Theresa’s Catholic High School in Midland.
In an earlier interview, Jonus’s stepmother Christine Palmer vividly recalled how they were woken up by the police at 5:30 in the morning on July 6 and told the news no parent ever wants to hear.
“I feel like we’re part of this messed-up movie,” she said, noting undercover police officers attended Jonus’s funeral.
And while Jonus's life took a turn and he started to get into drugs in high school, Christine Palmer said they took him for counselling to try to help him.
But as she remembers her stepson, Palmer said Jonus had a big heart and would always help out anyone in need.
“Jonus was a good kid,” she said. “He just had some issues. Nobody deserves this. Personally, my impression was he got caught up in that world and he could not get out of it.”
Anyone with information that could advance this investigation is asked to contact the OPP at (888) 310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit tips online by clicking here.
