Canadian rock musician Gord Lewis, the guitarist for the band Teenage Head, was found dead in his Ontario apartment over the weekend, and his son has been charged with murder.
Police found the body of a man in his 60s in Lewis’ apartment on Sunday, August 7, after being called to perform a wellness check. Officials did not immediately confirm that the body was Lewis, but the guitarist has not been seen for a week.
Det. Sgt. Sara Beck, of the Ontario Police homicide unit told the media that the body exhibited “injuries consistent with foul play,” according to the Hamilton Spectator.
Police did not confirm the identity of the body because the state of decomposition was such that they felt it better to wait for the results of an autopsy first.
Officials believe that the death occurred sometime around August 3 and the body was not discovered until August 7. And while investigators did say that it appeared as if the body showed injuries, they did not speculate on an exact cause of death, nor did they say if a weapon was involved.
The paper also reported that Lewis’ son, Jonathan Lewis, was arrested on Sunday, shortly after the body was discovered. The younger Lewis was charged with second-degree murder.
The Spectator added that several media outlets were sent emails from an account registered in Jonathan’s name that contain references to the guitarist’s death.
One email allegedly written by Jonathan said, “Now I just want to get help for my sickness and give my Dad a proper burial. He didn’t deserve this.”
A second email reportedly featured a remark that read: “My dad is starting to decay.”
Upon receipt of that message, the Spectator contacted the police and requested the wellness check at Lewis’ home.
Fans and friends memorialized the guitarist on social media.
“We are heartbroken and still trying to process the loss of our friend, bandmate, and brother Gord Lewis Our hearts are with his family and all that knew and loved him,” the band said in a statement. “Gord was a force and an inspiration to many. You were taken from us far too soon.
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