Police Release Audio Tape That May Feature Man’s Killer
Posted August 16, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It starts with the sound of a ringing phone and someone checking their messages. What happens after the caller puts in a password to access them is a matter of life and death. But this wasn’t a 911 call. Police think it’s the prelude to a conversation between a murder victim and his killer.
The audio was recorded from a cell phone held by 27-year-old Munit Walia (top left) as he waited for his girlfriend outside a day care near Martin Grove and John Garland Blvd. on July 31st. He was apparently getting ready to leave a message when his killer walked up to the side of his car. Police have now released the audio tape of the two minutes of that final conversation but the sound is very noisy and it’s difficult to know exactly what’s being said. Still, they’re hopeful someone out there has ears that can pick out something they missed and will let them know who the other person is.
The first minute or so of the tape sounds like the victim listening to the radio in his car. At about 1:26 in, that changes. It’s clear the phone owner is talking to someone who has come up to the vehicle, but it’s hard to discern the words. “Man what are you doing here?” a voice appears to ask. A few seconds later, that same voice is raised and breaks through the din, and seems to be yelling either ‘they’re just trying to tell me’ or far more ominously ‘they’re just trying to kill me.’
A person by the name of “Blanks” is referred to on several occasions, but police know that’s a street name and have no idea who he really is. There’s also a lot of lingo that officers can’t quite decipher. “It’s the language of the street and as many times as I have listened to it there are things I’m missing,” confesses Det. Sgt. Pauline Grey. “And the fact he has a nickname of ‘Blanks.'” Her request: sit down with some good headphones plugged into your computer speakers and listen closely. It may only take a single word to result in a successful arrest. “We’re hoping somebody out there recognizes the voice of the gentleman … and the nickname.”
Unfortunately for police, the deadly ending isn’t recorded – the message runs out after two minutes. Walia never had a chance to call back. By the time his girlfriend heard the message, he was dead from a gunshot wound. Police believe the suspects drove a black Nissan found abandoned a few blocks away. But they don’t know who was in it.
The entrepreneur’s death shocked his family. He’d just opened a new store in Brampton a few weeks before he was shot. But police say there’s nothing in his past that would have made him a target for murder. His pregnant girlfriend, his relatives and detectives are all hoping someone out there knows the voice on the phone. Cops have posted it as part of a YouTube presentation. You can see – and hear it -here.
If anything on that call sounds familiar, dial another number – the Homicide Squad at (416) 808-7400.
