Man wanted in double homicide found dead in Brantford hotel, SIU involved

Police say a man wanted for a double homicide in Hamilton over the weekend has been found dead. 

On Monday, Nov. 4, Hamilton Police Service Major Crime unit said that the 35-year-old suspect, David Thomson, was found dead in a Brantford motel. 

The SIU has been contacted and has invoked its mandate. 

Along with Brantford police officers, Hamilton police secured the area around the hotel where Thomson was staying — the Days Inn at 460 Fairview Drive. 

In a press release, the SIU said that officers were outside the hotel when a gunshot was heard coming from inside a room on the first floor. When officers entered the room they found Thomson dead from what appeared to be a gunshot wound. 

There is a discrepancy as to what time officers found Thomson. The SIU says Thompson's body was found just before 11 p.m. on Sunday. Hamilton police say the body was found early Monday morning.

Two investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon told CBC Hamilton that at this time, no subject officers or witness officers have been designated.

A post-mortem will take place on Tuesday morning. 

The SIU is asking anyone with video evidence of this incident to upload it through the SIU website. 

Police have also released the names of the homicide victims, who were identified as Donald Lowe, a 62-year-old Hamilton man, and Cheryl Nicholl, a 32-year-old Hamilton woman. 

A post-mortem will be conducted at Hamilton General Hospital Monday morning on the two victims. 

Police say they are not looking for anyone else in relation to their deaths.

They say they were called to a townhouse on Towercrest Drive around midnight on Saturday asking them to check in on the well-being of the people living there.

Officers found the bodies of a man and woman, who had both been shot. 

Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk said police believe the victims were "targeted" and investigators believe the shooting happened sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday.

Hamilton police spokesperson Jackie Penman said that the suspect knew one of the victims, and that police are still investigating his connection to the other. 

Oleniuk also said that while police knew about the homicide for hours, they decided not to discuss it publicly until Sunday afternoon to protect the integrity of the investigation. 

Police had named Thomson as a suspect and said that he had prior convictions for "violent criminal offences" and was considered "armed and dangerous." 

A truck with slashed tires was also reportedly towed from the scene, but police would only say that it was "part of the investigation." 

Police are asking anyone with information to contact police at 905-546-3874 or Crime Stoppers. 

The SIU is also asking anyone with information to contact its lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529.