A West Shore man has been charged with the murder of a 26-year-old Sooke man on Humpback Road two years ago.
On Wednesday, Damien Medwedrich was charged with the first-degree murder of Alex William Knatchbell on Jan. 20, 2020. Medwedrich, 26, is in custody and will appear in court on March 31.
A call to what police thought was a routine collision in the 3100-block of Humpback Road at 11:30 that January night turned sinister when Knatchbell’s body was discovered inside a sport utility vehicle.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit led the murder investigation, assisted by West Shore RCMP.
Because of the collision, traffic analysts as well as forensic identification officers worked together on the case. Residents of nearby homes were asked to review their home-security video surveillance or dash cameras in case suspicious activity had been captured.
In a death notice, Knatchbell was described as a loving, caring young man with a bright spirit who enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, ratrods, automobile tinkering, making hemp jewelry, collections of all sorts, his geckos and spending time with his little sisters.
Knatchbell was born in New Westminster and attended grade school in Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Chilliwack.
He graduated from Edward Milne Community School in 2012 and worked in painting and home building.
