Unsolved murder case passes two year anniversary

Two years have now passed since a man was found deceased in the backyard of a Prince Albert residence, and the family is still waiting for the person responsible to be found.

Shorty after 9 p.m. on July 13, 2018, police and paramedics were called to a yard near the intersection of sixth Ave. and 20 St. E. Jordan Ballantyne was discovered dead at the scene. Investigators categorized the death as suspicious soon after, and an autopsy conducted three days later determined Ballantyne was murdered.

Victoria Clarke explained to paNOW the family has been told he was stabbed three times in the stomach. She said she has no idea what may have motivated the attack.

“I never known him to get beat up or for somebody to go after him,” she said.

The second annual “Justice for Jordan” walk was held Monday night. Clarke said last year, the family from Southend was still feeling numb over what happened the year prior, and dealing with anger. This year’s emotions are very different.

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“It’s time that we grieve for the loss,” she said. “I think he’s letting us know we need to start feeling that pain instead of covering it up with our anger.”

Family members gather in the yard where Jordan Ballantyne’s body was found on July 13, 2018. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Over a dozen people participated in Monday night’s walk. Clarke said she hopes it will help inspire someone with information to come forward, and also encourage police to not give up their investigation. Clarke, who shared a special bond with her cousin, both being raised by their grandparents, described her cousin as a gentle guy, who was also a talented artist and writer.

“He should have been a poet because his words, they touched you,” she said.

Noting at the time of her cousin’s death, he was living on the street, Clarke explained he did not have a drug or alcohol addiction. At Ballantyne’s funeral many of his friends from the street attended to pay their respects. Clarke recalled the last time she saw her cousin, was roughly one week prior to his death, and she was with her daughter in the Wal Mart parking lot.

“I said there he is, where’s your five bucks I said to my girl because that’s all he would ask for, just to eat,” she said.

(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

While confirming their investigation is ongoing, police have released a video of Jordan Ballantyne with the clothing he was wearing prior to his death. Ballantyne can be seen in the video leaving a grocery store in the Cornerstone area.

“Police would like to thank members of the public who have provided information about this homicide to date. Police are asking anyone who has contacted the service in the past with information to once again call in as follow up with previous tipsters can often lead to new information valuable to the investigation,” a statement from police Monday read.

Anyone who may have information about Jordan Ballantyne’s death or his activities on July 13, 2018 has been encouraged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

In another sad twist to this story, Ballantyne’s brother Dominic Morin was murdered in 2017 in Southend. The family will gather next week in the northern community to pay their respects and walk from Brabant Lake to Southend.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell