Victoria man charged in fatal stabbing of overdose prevention site worker

A 23-year-old man from Victoria has been charged in the stabbing death of an overdose prevention worker in Vancouver on July 27.

Vancouver police say Maximus Roland Hayes has been charged with one count of manslaughter.

Thomus Donaghy, 41, was working at the overdose prevention site at St. Paul’s Hospital when he stepped outside for a break and ended up in a fist fight with a man who fatally stabbed him. Co-workers described him as “easygoing” and “happy-go-lucky” and say the he had been working at overdose prevention sites for four years.

Police appealed for witnesses to come forward on July 31 and identified Hayes as a suspect. He was arrested in North Vancouver on Wednesday. Hayes remains in custody.

Donaghy’s death was Vancouver’s ninth homicide of 2020.