Mounties mum about 4th killing
Top cop admits there were actually 4 homicides in 2017, but won’t give any more info
Four homicides occurred in the South Okanagan this year, but the public was only told about three. In a bizarre revelation, Supt. Ted De Jager told Castanet media in a year-end interview that there were four — not three that the media had reported — homicides in and around Penticton during the past 12 months.
He then declined to reveal the circumstances including the date and location of the fourth fatality.
“There is nothing further to release on this matter,” De Jager wrote in a subsequent press release, Friday. “There is no nexus to public safety and the integrity of the investigation outweighs the need to notify the public of the particulars. We will put out a full release if charges are approved.”
De Jager stated there were “erroneous” suggestions online that the fourth homicide occurred Tuesday.
“It occurred earlier this year and not last night,” he said.
Penticton Herald city editor Joe Fries has never seen anything like it in 10 years of journalism.
“I’m baffled by this,” Fries said. “Obviously, we don’t want to thwart a police investigation, but surely there’s a way and a need for the police to communicate to the public when a member of our community has died under suspicious circumstances.”
Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit supports the RCMP’s decision.
“We’ve been assured that there is no risk to the public, which is our primary concern,” Jakubeit said in a statement.
“Sometimes disclosing information to the media helps an investigation, but sometimes it can compromise building the case for a conviction. The RCMP are the experts in policing matters and we trust their procedure in this particular case (as to) what’s best. The public’s curiosity and need to know shouldn’t outweigh ensuring justice is served and the person or persons responsible not only get apprehended but also get convicted.”
Media relations officer Cpl. Janelle Shoihet, in charge of E division, was unable to comment on the specifics of this case but noted, “I can assure you that in any case if there was a risk to public safety, information would be made publicly available.
“In order for any information to be made publicly available, there is significant consultation that is done with investigators. If releasing information may harm an ongoing investigation or jeopardize the administration of justice, the information cannot be released, unless there is a risk to public safety.”
The three other homicides in the South during 2017 remain unsolved with no suspects charged.
Dale Atkinson was shot dead at his home on Woodlands Drive that he shared with his common-law spouse; Randal Toews died of a gunshot wound outside a housing complex on Creston Ave.; and Dean Gillette’s dead body was found outdoors in the Willowbrook area, near Oliver.