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10 years after Randy Rankin shot dead, brother seeks public's help

10 years after Randy Rankin shot dead, brother seeks public's help

A day doesn't go by that Gary Rankin doesn't think about his younger brother, Randy.

"He did a little bit of everything … he was funny … you could always get along with him," Gary Rankin said.

Randy Rankin was sitting at his computer desk in the basement of his home in the village of Morewood, southeast of Ottawa, in the early morning hours of Feb. 12, 2007, when someone snuck up to the window and fired a gun through the glass, hitting the 47-year-old in the back of the head.

His wife and daughter, who were upstairs at the time, ran to the basement to find him dead.

Victim had 'enemies'

Randy Rankin was a well-known children's entertainer who went by the names of "Lunchbox Louie" and "Koo Koo the Clown." He was also passionate about horse racing, and regularly bought and trained horses.

His death has been widely publicized on websites serving eastern Ontario's harness racing community, of which he was an active and outspoken member.

Gary Rankin said his brother had made enemies for posting his opinions about what he saw as corruption in the eastern Ontario harness racing industry.

Randy Rankin was one of four defendants named in a $6.25-million lawsuit launched by the Ontario Harness Horse Association over comments on a public discussion board. It was later settled.

But according to Gary Rankin, his brother had vowed to publicize more information in the days before his death.

"I think he said something about he was going to go live about it or something … I know he was getting some threatening phone calls the night before, apparently," Gary Rankin said.

Reward of $50K offered in 2009

The OPP described Randy Rankin as an avid horse harness racing enthusiast and that there were "lots of persons of interest" in the case.

But no arrests have been made in the case, even after the province in 2009 offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Gary Rankin said he has decided to speak out now, hoping that after a decade someone will finally come forward with what they know about his brother's murder.

"I figure after 10 years, it's time to get something woken up about it again," Gary Rankin said.