A man has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a North Vancouver woman at a Burnaby shopping mall nearly four years ago.
According to a press release, Everton Downey, 34, was convicted on Aug. 21 in Vancouver Supreme Court, where Justice Heather Holmes delivered the verdict in the death of 25-year-old Melissa Blimkie. The two had been in a relationship prior to the killing.
Blimkie was stabbed on Dec. 19, 2021, at Metrotown Mall on Kingsway in Burnaby. Emergency crews responded to multiple calls just before noon and found her suffering from stab wounds. She was taken to the hospital, where she later died.
The press release noted that the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team took over the investigation and, after several weeks of work, gathered enough evidence for charges. The BC Prosecution Service laid a second-degree murder charge against Downey on Jan. 19, 2022.
“This was a tragic instance of intimate partner violence that has had a devastating impact on Melissa’s family and her community,” IHIT spokesperson Cpl. Esther Tupper said. A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.
