Man charged, second sought in homicide at London public housing building

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Police have charged a man with second-degree murder and identified a second suspect in a homicide at a public housing building in London.

Darko Lukic, 48, died in hospital after he was found critically injured near his apartment building at 122 Base Line Rd., west of Wharncliffe Road, on July 20.

Dauntae Johnson, 19, was arrested Tuesday in London and charged with second-degree murder as investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Joseph Veneau, 30, on the same charge, police said.

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Both men are additionally charged with assault with a weapon.

“Officers determined that two additional victims were assaulted at the Base Line Road address,” Sgt. Sandasha Bough said Wednesday.

Terry Vuylsteke, a resident at the Base Line Road building, previously told The Free Press he saw two men pushing an unconscious Lukic from the building around 8:15 a.m. on July 20.

The men pushed the children’s wagon in which Lukic was lying face-up into a neighbouring townhouse complex and out of sight before an ambulance arrived a short time later, he said.

Lukic didn’t know his accused killers, police said. No cause of death has been released in the city’s fifth homicide of the year.

Roughly two dozen people gathered outside 122 Base Line Rd. W. on Aug. 1 for a candlelight vigil honouring Lukic, a father of two who was remembered for his small acts of kindness to his fellow residents in the geared-to-income building. The group presented Lukic’s sister, Dajana, with a card of condolences before planting a hydrangea tree and releasing balloons into the sky.

Investigators released a mug shot of Veneau and were asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact London police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

dcarruthers@postmedia.com

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  1. Terry Vuylsteke points out the window of his apartment at 122 Base Line Rd. W. in London where he says he saw two men pushing a wagon with an unconscious man inside on July 20. (Dale Carruthers/The London Free Press)

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  2. Marnie Lougheed comforts Dajana Lukic at a candlelight vigil at 122 Base Line Rd. in London for her brother Darko Lukic on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Darko Lukic died in hospital after he was found critically injured near the apartment building on July 20. (Dale Carruthers/The London Free Press)

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