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© MB OPINION WHO 15 YEARS LATER, Thursday, April 28, 2022 | = = =] Ss m =~ Q > wn m = REMAINS OPEN, 3 WRITES STEPHEN ; METELSKY STEPHEN METELSKY Column J was a cold winter n Feb. 21, 2007, when a passerby came up- on a rural Milton home on Dublin Line. A Jeep Cherokee sat idling at the end of the driveway. The driver's side door was propped open. Aman lay motionless on the ground, mere feet from the vehicle. At9:50a.m., the alarmed passerby called 911. The incident was initial- la events ack morphed i in. to something much more nefarious. ne On Michael Vene- 55 years of age, lay dead at the bottom of his He had been shot arent head. An autop- sy would later confirm the gunshot the official details, such as the type of firearm and calibre used in the in- cident, have not been re- leased to the public. Detective Sgt. Trevor Bradley, who manages Hal- ton's homicide unit, refers to sensitive aspects of a ho- micide investigation as “hold back information." "It is information con- theifp.ca ShelfGenie EVERYTHING WITHIN REACH’ a Meighbourly: company TRANSFORM YOUR HOME AND UPGRADE YOUR STORAGE HALTON CRIME, CONFIDENTIAL , #gegere §- nected to a case only the in- vestigators and potentially the person who committed the murder would know about, like the location of an injury (or murder weap- on). Information that can be leveraged later in the in- vestigation” said Bradley. many investigative leads over the last 15 years, including two different re- enactments of the homi- cide, nothing has led police in the direction of the per- son (or people) responsible for the shooting of Venerus, described as a local busi- (289) 14-2325 | shelfgenie.com * : — === KILLED RAY VENERUS? nessperson in Milton who owned several properties. are being explored by Hal- ton police. Did Venerus vol- untarily get out of his car knew? Or was he forced out at gunpoint by a stranger, acquaintance or by more than one person? "We are on the theory that he (Venerus) may have been confronted in that spot, either through a con- versation or somebody ap- proaching him. It could have been a rooted ties Venerus had to the Milton community up unl his nis untimely death. someone con- feline to the (Milton) co: rent knows something — like the person who shot him. I believe there is infor- tion to provide," said the de- tective sergeant. Milton has seen sub- stantial growth and devel- opment since 2007, yet po- lice remain optimistic that renewed public appeals on the 15th anniversary le- nerus' death will prompt someone with knowledge about this homicide to forward. "As an investigative with whoever pulled the trigger," said Bradley. What exactly transpired is still not known. "It would be very speculative to say what that interaction looked like," added Brad- ley. What investigators are confident aboutis the deep- im, whoever knows Soon hat whoever did it, has ties to the Miltoi ity,” concluded Bradley. "You al- ways want to appeal to someone's sense of doing what is right, and to try and get Some closure for the fami The Halton Regional Po- Halton police photo Ray Venerus, 55, was shot dead near his Milton home on Feb. 21, 2007. lice Service is currently of- fering a $20,000 reward in this case. Have a tip or informa- tion about the Venerus shooting? Call the Halton Police Homicide Tip Line at 905-825-4776. Tipsters can also vide information anony- mously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). pro- Stephen Metelsky is an author, professor and re- tired HRPS detective who Have a story idea? Reach him at HaltonCrimeConfi- dential@gmail.com.