Toronto man, 58, and son, 6, found dead in apartment, police investigate

TORONTO – A young boy and his father have been found dead in a Toronto apartment in what is believed to be a murder-suicide.

Zlatan Cico, 58, and his six-year-old son, Simon, were found without vital signs shortly after 7 p.m. Monday, Toronto police said in a news release Tuesday.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The boy showed “signs of trauma,” but police didn’t elaborate further.

Police said they are not looking for any suspects, but are asking anyone with information to come forward.

Pearse Vujcic said he knew something was wrong when he noticed his dog was running in circles on his balcony.

“I then heard a loud noise and I knew right away somebody is dead,” Vujcic said, who had been Cico’s neighbour for 11 years. “It was not a regular noise when you have a domestic dispute or something. It was totally different, like in a war.”

Vujcic said he left his apartment and saw Simon’s mother in the hallway, screaming, “My son is inside, how am I going to live without my son?”

The door to Cico’s apartment was open, and Vujcic said he entered with a few other neighbours to find the man dead with a note on his chest. He said Simon was also dead.

He described Simon as a happy child who was “dearly loved” by his parents. He said Simon lived full-time with his mother, and visited his father on a regular basis.

He said Cico was a proud father, who often taped to his apartment door pictures drawn by the boy.

“He would have several drawings outside on his door, and that’s not allowed,” Vujcic said. “Nobody complained — neighbours, management, the superintendent, nobody — because he was a good father and Simon was a great child.”

Vujcic said he never noticed any signs that Cico was in distress, adding that he is still shocked that his friend could be capable of harming the child.

“I will blame myself for the rest of my life that I didn’t notice he was suicidal,” he said. “If I knew that he was suicidal, I would have stopped this.”

Autopsies for the father and son are scheduled for Wednesday, police said.