West Shore RCMP are investigating a possible homicide in Langford. A man was taken into custody after his mother died, officials said.
Police investigators do not believe that there is a further risk to the public “as both individuals knew each other,” said Sgt. Chris Manseau, spokesman for the B.C. RCMP.
Yellow police tape surrounded a single-storey blue home at 19-2587 Selwyn Rd. in the Arbutus Ridge Estates community for seniors Saturday morning. B.C. Coroners Service and West Shore RCMP were at the scene.
“Officers will continue to remain at the scene for the next few days while the investigation progresses,” said Manseau.
Langford Coun. Lillian Szpak, chair of protective services committee, confirmed she was contacted by West Shore RCMP Saturday morning and informed there was “a homicide yesterday in Langford at the trailer park, on Selwyn and … a male is in custody; the deceased is his mother.”
Szpak said her heart goes out to the family and friends of the deceased and to the first responders. The RCMP are working hard on the case and it’s good to know no other members of the public are considered at risk, she said.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit, called VIIMCU, confirmed it is leading the investigation.
On Friday, just after noon, West Shore RCMP were asked to visit a home on Selwyn Road for a “well-being” check.
“Front line RCMP members located the body of a deceased woman within a residence,” said VIIMCU in a media release. “A male has since been taken into custody without incident.”
Kevin Lee, a neighbour, said the mother in the home is about 60 years old, and the son is about 28.
“A couple of neighbours are pretty upset and having a hard time dealing with it,” said Lee. “I just can’t believe it either. I just don’t understand what happened.”
Lee said when he left for work at 5 a.m. Friday he saw the son “coming home from wherever he was, because sometimes he goes out late at night and comes home early in the morning.”
By the time Lee arrived home in the afternoon at about 2:30 p.m., police were on the scene.
Lee was told by a neighbour that son “was taken way in handcuffs.”
Lee said he was interviewed by police and was told that the death was suspicious.
The mother and son have lived in the home about two years, said Lee. The mother worked as a cleaner and the son was off work because of a disability, he said.
The two could often be heard fighting, said Lee. “I live right across the street,” he said. “You could hear the arguments from over here but I never knew what they were arguing about and when he’d come over he’d say they were just fighting.
“I told him I didn’t want to know why, I didn’t want to be involved, because I like the both of them so I didn’t want to get in the middle of everything,” said Lee.
But beyond the verbal yelling he heard, Lee said he hadn’t worried for the mother’s physical safety.
The RCMP continued to work with the B.C. Coroners Service Saturday “to definitively confirm the ID of the deceased.”
Anyone with information about the death is asked to call the VIIMCU information line at 250‑380-6211.
A silver Dodge compact car was outside the Selwyn home, the snow dusted off from it and a path cleared to a porch with an overhang.
The community is advertised as West Shore’s premier mobile home park, Arbutus Ridge Estates.
In one real estate ad it was described as a well-managed complex located alongside Millstream Creek, featuring an on-site caretaker, RV parking area and a social clubhouse.
