A man in his mid-30s has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a woman Wednesday in Saanich.
Saanich police have not said whether the case is connected to two homicides Wednesday linked to a house on Bethune Avenue.
Christopher Douglas Cathcart is charged in the death of Stephanie Elk, who was in her late 30s. Cathcart appeared in court for a bail hearing Thursday. Evidence at the bail hearing is protected by a publication ban.
The bail hearing is expected to continue Friday at 2 p.m.
Officers continued to examine the Bethune Avenue house Thursday.
The road was no longer cordoned off, but police tape remained at the modest house on the quiet street in the Rutledge Park neighbourhood, just off Cloverdale Avenue.
There was also ongoing police activity nearby on a wide, treed and brushy portion of the median on Blanshard Street just south of Saanich Road. Several police vehicles were at the site, with a few blocking the southbound lane next to the median.
Officers could be seen walking into the area about 11 a.m.
The Vancouver Integrated Major Crime Unit is involved in the investigation. Police have said they believe there is no risk to the public.
More details are expected later on Thursday.
Residents on Bethune Avenue expressed shock on Wednesday, and some said they were feeling fearful.
A resident who lives across the street from the house said she heard a woman scream about 10:50 a.m. while she was on a conference call for work. Soon after, police cars and tactical teams flooded the street.
“It’s very sad and it’s very scary,” said the woman who did not want her name used. “I just need more information to find out if this is just something random.”
Another man who lives three doors down from the house said he also heard a scream, but did not want to elaborate.
Much of Bethune Avenue remained behind police tape Wednesday evening and officers were still inside the house and in the front yard. The door of the house was open, revealing jackets on hooks, and the lights were on.
A large pickup truck was parked on the front lawn with a rowboat in the box, and a fold-up wagon was in the driveway with belongings of some sort near the front door as darkness fell.
A dog was seen in the wagon earlier in the day, but had since been taken away.
Saanich police Sgt. Damian Kowalewich said in statement more information is expected to be released later, but “at this time investigators feel there is no risk to the public.”
Police combed a small neighbourhood park about 100 metres from the home. They were also in Rutledge Park along Cloverdale Avenue, about a half block from the house, and at a large raised boulevard on Blanshard Street, where the highway splits near Uptown shopping centre.
Debbie, who lives on Bethune Avenue, had been watching events unfold all day. “There must have been 25 police cruisers here, SWAT team, fire department, ambulance … and then the coroner,” she said.
“No bodies have come out of that house yet … I’m a nurse,” she said at 7:30 p.m.
“What I’ve heard [from neighbours] is the girl was screaming for some time.”
Some neighbours said they were fearful that it might have been an attack that spilled into their neighbourhood from another area, onto their street, and into the house that police have taken over.
The woman who lives across the street said the house was being rented by at least two young men — “probably college-aged … they seemed really nice, no complaints.”
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