A Bloody Mess

One thing we know, of the few things we know... it was a bloody mess.

Blood in the hall, blood on the carpet, blood on the walls.

The Delta Chelsea Hotel, bustling with conventions and international film goers, has begun its counter assault against bad publicity, fighting for a clean image of a safe place to stay. "This is an isolated incident." "Our hotel, like all hotels in Toronto, is safe." [See Toronto Star Story here].

What occured yesterday on the 19th floor is deep in mystery. Without confirmation there is much speculation.

They may have been Swiss tourists.

They may have been part of a tour group.

They may have all been murdered... or possibly... it was murder suicide.

No matter how you add it up, it amounts to three dead.

This kind of crisis in a hotel is not without precedent, and the Delta Chelsea, located in the heart of Toronto, is as prepared as they come. All the right steps are taken. All the right words spoken. No loose ends.

First, a security guard, on making his rounds, discovers one body in the hall. A trail of blood leads him to two more inside a room.

Immediately, the scene is cordoned off. Even before police arrive, hotel staff ensure the integrity of the crime scene.

Usually, when such things happen (according to a hotel professional, interviewed on CBC Radio's Metro Morning), only the room in question is protected. However, because this crime dragged its bloody pulp into the corridor, the entire wing is evacuated.

Police arrive, and take control.

Hotel staff know the drill. No one talks to media. No one discusses the crime with guests. No one makes a bigger mess.

Then comes the damage control. Ensuring that other guests are comfortable and feel secure. Nobody else gets knifed. The Delta Chelsea is still a top-quality hotel.

This is the way it goes.

Eerily, for many Torontonians the scene conjures up images of Cancun, Mexico, where Canadian visitors Dominic and Nancy Ianiero were visciously slain in their hotel room.

That was a very different scene. Instead of the protocols implemented at the Delta, hotel staff imediately contaminated the crime scene. Hours after the bodies were discovered, the room was given a deep clean. All the blood, along with so much evidence, was washed away in bleach and ammonia.

And, everybody talked. From the maid who cleaned the room to the Attorney General of Quintana Roo, to Mexican President Vincente Fox... they put word out that the killer was a fellow Canadian tourist. It was a Canadian on Canadian crime, and tourists should feel safe in their hotel... because it was not a local crime.

Thankfully, we are doing better here.

Efforts are being spent to learn what actually happened, and who is responsible. It has not turned into a public relations campaign for the city of Toronto to protect its beloved tourist industry.

In effect, the crime scene is the crime scene, and the hotel is the hotel. The two are seperate, in and of themselves.

This is the second hotel murder in Toronto this summer. The last, at the Weston Harbour Hotel, was a drug deal gone bad. This one, who knows? But it's not like there is a serial killer on the loose, stalking foreign visitors and slashing their throats. It's not like we have robbers breaking into your hotel rooms, killing you and stealing your money.

Nobody has to sleep with a gun under their pillow.

Yet, the mystery still compells us to pay attention. We are riveted to the details, desperate to know more. Our curiosity drags us out of our rooms, into that bloody hallway, and begs us to pay attention. There is a story to be told here, one tragic and thrilling at the same time. One of sadness for the families of those killed, and one exhilleration over the pursuit of the truth. Because, no matter how well managed the crime scene, and no matter how safe and secure the hotel... we still need to know. What happened... and why?