The family of a man who died after being stabbed several times while ringing in 2012 on the streets of Liberty Village made a tearful plea for help from the public on Monday.

Toronto police said 24-year-old Michael Pimentel died in hospital on Sunday after being found collapsed in the street, bleeding, around 3 a.m. near East Liberty Street and Hannah Avenue.

Homicide investigators said Pimentel had just left one party and was walking to another with about 10 of his friends when he split from the group to greet other revelers on the busy streets of Liberty Village.

"Mr. Pimentel stopped to talk to other party-goers along the way, wishing them well bringing in the New Year," Det. Sgt. Wayne Banks told reporters. "That is how he got separated from his friends."

Banks said at some point Pimental met one or more people and was stabbed multiple times in the chest. He said police have spoken to several witnesses but are asking others who may have been in the area to come forward.

"We know from our investigation that there would have been 100 or more people in that area celebrating and bringing in the New Year," Banks said.

"We are appealing to anyone who may have any information, who may have heard anything, to come forward and speak with the homicide squad."

Pimentel was the father of a five-year-old daughter and dedicated to his job as a construction worker, his grieving girlfriend told reporters on Monday as his family came forward to appeal for the public's help tracking down those responsible for his death.

"He was a great guy; he was always cracking jokes, always smiling. He was always on the go," Jen deFrega said. "He was a hard-working man and father. He was an amazing person."

Standing beside his mother and sister, Pimentel's brother Josh called for witnesses to come forward with any details they may have.

"If anybody has information about my brother please come forward. Whoever did this is a big coward," he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Pimentel is Toronto's second homicide victim of 2012.

The city's first reported homicide of the year occurred in Scarborough, when another young man was shot to death outside a party.

The shooting took place just after 4:30 a.m. on Hupfield Trail, blocks away from the Malvern Town Centre at Finch Avenue East and Neilson Road.

Jamahl Franklin, 20, was pronounced dead on scene and became the city's first murder victim of the year.

Toronto police reported at least 14 stabbings or shootings in the city during the early hours of Jan 1, and handled twice the number of 911 calls than an average weekend night.

The two deaths came just shortly after Toronto homicide investigators closed the book on a comparably peaceful year.

Toronto's homicide rate dropped to 45 in 2011 -- a 25-year low -- after seeing 61 people killed in the city the previous year.

It was the fourth straight year that the number of murders has decreased, since 86 homicides were recorded in 2007.

With files from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinCTV.