A man has been charged with murder in connection with a violent struggle at a Brentwood Bay home early Saturday morning.
Alan Charles Chapman of Nanaimo is charged with the first-degree murder of Emily Caruana at a house on Meadowlark Lane. Chapman has been remanded into custody and is expected to appear in person in Victoria provincial court on Wednesday.
The home is owned by Doris Caruana, a widow whose husband Victor died in March. Emily is Doris’s granddaughter, according to those who know the family. The two people injured were Doris’s son and Emily’s boyfriend.
Doris was not injured and it’s unclear if she was home at the time of the killing.
Charges have not yet been laid in relation to the two people injured.
“Crown has approved a single charge of first degree murder and as the investigation continues, we’ll update Crown and they will decide if further charges are warranted,” said Central Saanich Police Chief Les Sylven.
Police were called to the house about 12:30 a.m. after reports of a disturbance. They found one person dead and two others seriously injured, Sylven said.
“Inside, we saw signs of a violent struggle,” Sylven said. The injured people were taken to hospital.
The cause of Caruana’s death has not been released.
Police have not released any information about the victims or their relationship to the accused. Sylven said the attack was not random.
The house, on a cul-de-sac near Brentwood Bay village, was behind police tape for a third day Monday. Investigators with the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit will likely be there for a few more days, Sylven said.
The 1960s house is a mix of white stucco and reddish-brown wood and has wooden shutters. Two cars — an older model Subaru and an SUV — were parked in an arched car park.
Sylven said it’s too early to speak to a motive.
“There’s nothing we can share with the community right now as to why this happened because the investigation is still ongoing,” Sylven said.
Anyone with information on the killing who has not yet been interviewed by police is asked to call the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit at 250-380-6200.
