Suspect in Hamilton murder officially charged

(Updated)

A young father from Hamilton is in jail tonight, accused of killing his own father. Acting on a tip, police went to an address in Hamilton’s industrial east end — around 6pm Thursday night.

It’s the story of a solitary man — who met a lonely fate.

66-year old Antonio Robles originally came from the Philippines to Canada several years ago, hoping for a better life. But those dreams were never fulfilled.
Sources who knew him say, he struggled in his personal life and died, virtually alone.

The neighbourhood, isn’t homey — with its gang tags, and garbage, and foreboding alleyways. It’s surrounded by buildings meant for work, not sanctuary. A lonely place to live — or die. But it’s where 66 year old Antonio Robles — a native of the Philippines — spent his last days on earth, camped in his small RV.

Just over a year ago, Antonio Robles had a home, here in this tidy neighbourhood, barely a kilometre away from where he died. But something went wrong. Something that left him alone, and down on his luck..

Gino Piedimonte: “Just tragic events throughout his personal life, and he needed somewhere to stay.”

Gino Piedimonte agreed to let Robles park his van behind his auto body shop, plug it in, and get water from his shop.

It was a good deed. Robles was on parole, and needed a permanent address. Piedimonte made sure his former customer had one.

Police won’t say why Robles was on parole, but it may be one of the reasons why he was living in an RV, and not his former home.

What is known is that around 6:30 last night, police banged on Gino Piedimonte’s door: “We were leaving at the day’s end, and we were confronted by two police officers who were looking for his son. And then I escorted the two police officers to the rear of the building where Tony normally stays. I indicated to where the vehicle was located, and then, that’s when everything came to light.”

What they found, was Tony’s body. Police say they got a call alerting them to the scene, from Tony’s 35-year old son Jonathon.

The married father of three is now in police custody, charged with first-degree murder. Gino says it’s tough to imagine that Tony’s life would end like this: “He was, you know, a gentle person that was very kind and soft spoken, so I never had any issues with him.

But Tony apparently had issues with life, that led him to a solitary, violent end, in a cold and desolate corner of Hamilton’s east end.

Police have now confirmed that Robles died of stab wounds — and, we have learned that security video has been taken from a nearby business to aid in the investigation.

Jonathon Robles appeared in court this morning, and was formally charged with his father’s murder. He has hired Toronto lawyer Jeff Hershberg to defend him, and will next appear November 21st, when a date will be set to consider bail.