Man facing murder charges for attacks near Kingston encampment dies in custody

The man facing murder charges for a series of violent attacks near a Kingston, Ont., encampment that left two people dead and a third critically injured has died in custody, according to the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

Andre Wareham was being held at the Central East Correctional Centre while awaiting trial. He died in hospital on April 22, ministry spokesperson Brent Ross confirmed in an email to CBC.

Ross did not share any further details, including a suspected cause of death, citing ongoing investigations.

The Ontario coroner's office said that because Wareham's death occurred while he was incarcerated, a standard death investigation is taking place.

"If the manner of death is non-natural, a mandatory inquest will be held," spokesperson Stephanie Rea added in an email.

Wareham's death was first reported by local news outlet Kingstonist.

Reached by CBC, his family declined to comment.

According to a GoFundMe campaign created in early May and shared by some of his loved ones on social media, Wareham was a father to three children and is also survived by his mother and brother.

"Andre passed away under tragic and unresolved circumstances while incarcerated," it reads in part, asking for help covering the cost of a private service and to support his children following his cremation.

2 men killed, 1 woman seriously injured

Wareham was facing two first-degree murder charges and one charge of attempted murder in connection with the deadly attacks on Sept. 12, 2024. Witnesses said the attacks involved a hammer.

He was arrested following a lengthy standoff with police.

It took place near an encampment that had grown around the Integrated Care Hub (ICH) on Montreal Street, which houses the city's only supervised consumption site and offers other services including showers and meals.

Police identified Taylor Wilkinson, 38, and John Hood, 41, as the two men killed in the attacks. Friends described them as generous, caring and the kind of people who were always looking out for others.

A woman who was not named by officials also suffered life-threatening injuries.

In a statement issued while the standoff was still going on, Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson called for the encampment to be cleared and the injection site shut down until a "better way" to support vulnerable residents could be found.

Investigators later said Wareham lived near the hub and was familiar to those living in Belle Park, but was not part of the encampment.

Court documents from Thunder Bay show his arrest  last September wasn't the first time he had been accused in a homicide: Wareham was charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a neighbour in 2009.

He was ultimately found not guilty in that case, CBC reported in 2012. 

In the wake of the violence in Kingston, the ICH and all of its services were temporarily shuttered and the area around it fenced off as tents and other makeshift shelters were hauled down and removed.

Just over a month later, the injection site reopened and other services slowly resumed.

Today the fencing remains, but tents have sprung up in the wooded parts of Belle Park beyond the barriers and people continue to live rough there.