“Mom, call the ambulance.”
Those were the last four words Geraldine (Gerri) Cunningham heard her son Cam say before he bled to death on the sidewalk of a downtown Trail street.
“He was such a good person, loves animals, loves people,” Gerri, a longtime Trail Times carrier, shared with the newspaper Monday morning. “He was always helping others on the street, people less fortunate than him.”
Cam Cunningham, 39, died the night of June 30 after being stabbed on Pine Avenue outside a Trail church.
Gerri didn’t witness what happened between Cam and another man who was known to her son, but wasn’t a friend of his.
She was there shortly after when her son was laying on the street, his life running out of him, as they waited for first responders to arrive.
“Cam was born and raised in Trail,” Gerri reminisced, recalling how proud the family was when Cam played on a winning Trail Little League team. “I can’t believe he is gone.”
Major crimes has confirmed a suspect in Cam’s homicide was arrested the following day (July 1) and subsequently released from custody.
Police have not yet charged him nor are they identifying him.
“There will be no further updates this week,” RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet told the Trail Times on Monday. “The suspect was released pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Homicide investigations generally take a significant amount of time prior to being sent for charge assessment and before full disclosure is ready, Shoihet continued.
“We need to ensure the investigation is almost completely buttoned up and ready for trial before it goes to the Crown for charge assessment,” she said. “We don’t have a timeline but we are talking months, rather than days and weeks.”
Shoihet says once the charge assessment process is complete, investigators are committed to providing an update.
Cam, his two brothers and his one sister were all Trail Times carriers before Gerri took over the role many years ago.
Cam also worked as a collator in the back of the building for “The Right Stuff,” assembling newspapers. He also worked as a groundskeeper at Camp Koolaree.
“He always made time to help the community, by shovelling the Trail United Church and senior’s residences,” his sister Keara Starr Cunningham shares. “He even made time to sit and have a tea just to keep them company.”
Cam played Little League when his team won the 1994 championship. “They called him ‘Baby Bambino’ after Babe Ruth as well as ‘Grand Slam Cunningham’ because he always batted out of the park to bring his players in,” reminisced his sister Keara. Photo: Submitted
To help Cam’s family raise funds for his funeral and ease the stress on her mom’s shoulders, Keara has sent up a GoFundMe campaign: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/cams-memorial.
Donations can also be made via a Facebook Fundraiser – Cam’s Memorial or via e-transfer to kearastarr@hotmail.com.
“Cam was spiritual and had such great faith in the Lord, always spreading the faith wherever he went,” Keara said. “He was the most amazing, loving and caring son, brother, grandson, and uncle. Cam made a huge impact in this world, and he deserves his life to be celebrated.”
Read more: Suspect in Trail homicide arrested and released
Read more: Senior dies as Trail tenants wait for broken elevator fix
newsroom@trailtimes.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
