‘She was actually asking for people to help her’: Tenants say London, Ont. murder victim sought assistance

Residents of a public housing complex near Western University were shaken to learn London police have laid a murder charge in relation to the death of a tenant.

London police have charged a 44-year-old man with second-degree murder in relation to the death of 62-year-old Cheryl Lynn Sheldon.

Louise Phillips, a resident of the same complex at 345 and 347 Wharncliffe Rd., had nothing but kind words for Sheldon.

“She was a very lovely woman,” Phillips said. “She had, like everybody has, their flaws in today’s society, but she was an amazing woman. And unfortunately, it’s sad that this has happened.”

Police were still on scene Monday, a day after the second-degree murder count was laid against George Kenneth Curtis.

They say Sheldon and Curtis “were known to each other.”

They also attached an advisory to their media release regarding intimate partner violence and femicide.

A police cruiser parked outside of 345 Wharncliffe Rd. on June 24, 2024. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

On Friday, just hours before her death, numerous residents say Sheldon had been in and out of the hallways, and the main entrance, asking for help.

Phillips was among those who spoke with her, “She was actually asking for people to help her. It’s like everybody turned a blind eye.”

To that point, Phillips said she was among those who guided her to onsite help.

The next day, she was devastated to learn Sheldon had died.

She wonders if it was preventable.

“I was pretty upset knowing, like I said, as a female, there could have been preventative measures,” said Phillips.

She added that security, both in-person and electronic, needs to be improved. She also wants better tenant screening and improved access procedures for female residents.

Michelle Landry agrees. She told CTV News she was already fearful of leaving or letting people into her unit at night.

With Sheldon’s death and a stabbing a week earlier, she said her concerns have escalated, “I stay mostly in my house. Because the people who generally cause problems only come out at night.”

A Western student who lives in a cluster of student residences down the street has the same reservations, “I don’t know if it’s a sign of the times or what it is, and I don’t know the details of the situation, but it’s concerning that it’s happening so close to home.”