WINNIPEG -- Family and friends of a man whose body was found in a downtown Winnipeg hotel Monday morning say they don't know how he died but fear his life met a violent end.

Relatives of Edward Denechezhe, a survivor of residential schools, were awaiting the outcome of an autopsy yesterday to find out how he died.

"They said they should have an answer (soon)," said nephew Pascal Denechezhe.

Denechezhe, who spelled his name Denedchezhe, was found dead in his top-floor room at the St. Regis Hotel, a four-storey building at 285 Smith St. on Monday about 11:40 a.m.

A housekeeper found the body, said hotel manager Kyle Wyatt.

Wyatt said police think Denechezhe, about 60 years old, died on the weekend and was the victim of foul play.

"They consider it a homicide," Wyatt said.

The homicide unit is investigating, police said.

Publicly, police are calling it a suspicious death. Yesterday, forensic identification officers continued to process evidence in the hotel room and examine video surveillance footage.

Denechezhe lived in the hotel on a month-to-month basis for almost three months. He was put up by Health Canada while he was being treated for an illness, Wyatt and relatives said.

Pascal Denechezhe said his uncle, who struggled with alcohol addiction, talked about moving out and finding permanent and private housing because he wanted his own place and was bothered by people knocking on his door or entering his room in the middle of the night.

Nothing was out of the ordinary when the pair last talked Thursday, Pascal Denechezhe said.

Denechezhe had been living in Winnipeg for at least two decades but is originally from Northlands Dene First Nation in Lac Brochet in northern Manitoba.

Relatives said he moved away because he didn't enjoy the isolation and lack of jobs and affordable housing in the fly-in community 1,000 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

He never married and had no kids. He once worked at Lac Brochet's school, relatives said.

Family and friends called him "Uncle Ed" and said he was a friendly guy who became a bit of a loner.

"He wouldn't even hurt a fly," said relative Flora Denechezhe.

"Ever since his mom and dad passed away he seemed to be on his own," Pascal Denechezhe said. "I was trying to help him out and get him out of drinking and get him in a safe place like a treatment centre."

Denechezhe last visited his hometown last Christmas, said his younger brother Augustine Denechezhe.

"He was a nice person," Augustine Denechezhe said.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca