The yellow police tape around the edge of the property and a heavy police presence in the area served as a reminder to residents Wednesday of the troubling incident and the major police call-out it spurred a day earlier.

Prior to the police announcement about the matter being a homicide case, several residents in the area expressed frustration at not knowing more about what happened at the house and about what police have learned.

"Why can't they let people know what's going on?" asked Peter Calenda, a resident on Lowes Road, a block away from the Gordon Street residence. He said he listened Tuesday morning as police called out to anyone who might be inside a rental property across the street and then saw officers enter with a police dog.

"Obviously, they were looking for somebody," he said. But after hearing the latest information about what happened at the Gordon Street home, he's not sure if officers found who they were looking for.

Calenda said he has spoken to police who came to his door but didn't find out anything about what's happening. "The fact of not knowing makes the mind go crazy," he said.

Fallon Stuckey also has questions that have gone unanswered since Tuesday. While the 22-year-old University of Guelph student was out for a walk on Tuesday morning in the neighbourhood, she said she was told by an officer to go back to her home, lock her door and follow the news online.

Having lived on the street for a year and a half, she said she's not been afraid of walking around the area, even late at night. But until this investigation is resolved, Stuckey said she might hold off from going out on her own after dark.

"I'm worried to walk around the block," she said. "Once it's solved and everything's OK, I think I'll be fine to resume exactly what I was doing before.

"It's just very close to home. It's kind of freaky."

Many residents in the area are renters; some are university students and some are recent arrivals to the neighbourhood.

Police would not comment on whether a man who appeared in bail court Wednesday on a variety of charges was the person of interest detained in the case.

He was reportedly arrested Tuesday in the city's south end and is charged with an impaired driving offence in early August, two mid-September counts of failing to appear in court and two late September counts of breach of recognizance. The man with short, grey hair and a cropped beard did not address the court.

Justice of the peace Matilda Lewis put his bail hearing to Friday at the request of defence attorney Ranney Hintsa, an adjournment agreed to by assistant Crown prosecutor Anthony Williams. Circumstances of the charges were not discussed in open court.

Guelph Police declined to offer comment on the circumstances of the 40-year-old man's arrest.

Police have also not disclosed any information about the circumstances of the arrest of the person of interest.

Anyone with information about the suspicious death is asked to contact police at 519-824-1212. Anonymous tips can also be left with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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