KAMLOOPS — RCMP have shed more light on the city’s first homicide of 2016.
32 year old Eric Charlie was arrested yesterday, and charged with the January 22nd killing of 30 year old John Southwell.
Southwell suffered stab wounds, stumbling into a Tranquille Road sushi restaurant before dying in hospital.
Superintendent Brad Mueller says Charlie and Southwell knew each other.
“The suspect and victim knew each other, and the assault occurred following an argument, police identified the accused early in the investigation, and then proceeded with a very dedicated, methodical and evidence-based approach to bring it to the arrest stage,” said Mueller.
Mueller says Charlie had been in custody on another matter, and was arrested upon his release from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre.
The superintendent then added some words of explanation for the detachment’s media silence for the past several weeks, a silence that resulted in a host of critical editorials from local media.
Mueller says the detachment was bound by policy, as well as the Federal Privacy Act, in not releasing the name of the homicide victim.
He notes he takes comfort in knowing the action protected the privacy of Southwell’s family, and preserved the integrity of the investigation.
