GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grand Rapids Police hope someone will be able to tell from a surveillance video released Wednesday afternoon who the person of interest is in the October death of Santino Ysasi.
The 46-year-old homeless man was stabbed to death October 19th outside the shuttered St. James Catholic Church on the city's near West Side. At a news conference in police headquarters downtown, Capt. Chad McKersie showed surveillance video and some still photos taken by another camera. He said the person of interest was wearing a dark-colored hooded jacket with the hood up and a backpack on. He or she also had on a mask and was seen walking around the building prior to the killing.
"What we're looking at is 733 Bridge Street. It's the abandoned building in the back behind the church," MeKersie told reporters. "We want to focus on how he's dressed and how he's walking."
Capt. McKersie said someone might notice the person of interest by their body type or the way they walk. He said it appears to be a man, but police are not certain about that.
"Our hope is that, by putting this video out - and these still shots - that it will help jog someone's memory or remember a key detail of that morning in question when Santino was killed, so we can help identify and have further leads in this case," he said.
WOOD Radio asked McKersie if the incident was random, or if the victim and the attacker knew each other.
"I do not have that information at this time," he replied. "It is unknown."
Anyone with more information should contact the Grand Rapids Police detective bureau at (616)-456-3380 or Silent Observer at (616)-774-2345.
Silent Observer is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.
View WOOD-TV's story here.
### [GRPD image via WOOD-TV]