A two-year-old investigation into the death of a young St. Albert man who was killed outside an Edmonton liquor store has failed to lead to arrests, although police are still encouraging the public to step forward with tips.
Andrew Stephen Frang, who grew up in the city and attended Paul Kane High School, was walking to the Inglewood Royal Pizza on 118th Avenue near 124th Street on Nov. 9, 2008 when two men asked him for cigarettes.
Frang refused the two men and was attacked. He was stabbed in the chest and bleeding on the steps of the Liquor Time corner store when police arrived. He was rushed to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, but ultimately died shortly after arriving.
The two men ran from the crime scene and police have not yet made any arrests in the case.
Despite the time gap the force is still hoping to make progress on the case, said Det. Brian Robertson with the Edmonton Police Service.
"There are investigations going on currently even as we speak on that file."
At various times the investigation has moved police close to certain suspects only to have them ruled out upon further examination, he said.
"We have run the rollercoaster of investigating our way close to some people and the evidence moved us away from those people."
Robertson said they have good physical evidence related to the case and hope to eventually find a suspect to match it to.
There have been several reports since the attack of other altercations where someone was approached for cigarettes and then attacked, but Robertson said it is not a unique set of circumstances in that area.
"The reality is that is an extremely popular entry-level conversation that precedes many personal robberies," he said. "It is not an unusual behaviour that we can identify to one person or even one group of people."
Two suspects
Based on limited witness descriptions the police identified two possible male suspects in the case.
One is described as a native male between the ages of 16 and 20, and about five-foot-six or five-foot-seven tall with a slim build.
The other male was described only as older and taller than the first.
Robertson said police believe the second person could be a more promising witness than a suspect and they are urging him to come forward.
"I think the secondary person who was there may be our best witness as opposed to a potential suspect."
He said witness reports made it clear that the first male was the aggressor in this attack and the second man may not have had any idea the incident would become so violent.
"If they didn't participate in the crime they shouldn't have any fear in coming forward and talking about what they saw."
The one thing Robertson can say with certainty is the attack was entirely random.
"Andrew and his girlfriend were simply minding their own business and walking from one establishment to another to have a pizza and these guys sort of set upon them and started harassing them."
Anyone with any information on the case can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or the police dispatch line at 780-423-4567.
