Charges upgraded for suspect in Marpole couple’s killing

Charges have been upgraded for a man accused in the shocking murder of a couple in their home in Vancouver’s Marpole neighbourhood.

In November, Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam, 25, was initially charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the September 2017 slayings of Richard Jones and his wife, Dianna Mah-Jones.

But in a new indictment recently filed by the Crown, Kam has now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Alisia Adams, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Prosecution Service, said in an email Thursday that she could not comment on the specifics of the case against Kam, including the reasons for the upgrading of charges.

“However, I can say that at the outset of any prosecution, the B.C. Prosecution Service bases its charge assessment on the initial evidence submitted by the investigating agency,” she said.

“As a case moves through the system, additional evidence may become available or the evidence may change. Crown counsel continue to assess the evidence throughout the prosecution to determine if it continues to support the charge laid or any other charges.”

Adams added that in making such decisions, the Crown applies a two-pronged test to determine whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether the public interest requires a prosecution.

She noted that a preliminary inquiry for Kam is scheduled to begin Oct. 22 in Vancouver provincial court.

The stakes are now higher for Kam as a conviction for first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

A conviction for second-degree murder also carries a mandatory life sentence, with between 10 and 25 years of parole eligibility.

The Marpole couple, both of whom were in their 60s, were found dead Sept. 27 in their home after police were asked to check on the residents at their house at West 64th Avenue and Hudson Street. A friend had dropped by for a visit and noticed something that led to a call to cops.

Mah-Jones was an occupational therapist with Vancouver Coastal Health and in 2015 was named the outstanding occupational therapist of the year by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists of B.C.