[Victoria police took less than a day to recommend a murder charge in the stabbing death of Mark Kenneth Henderson. But VicPD continues to delay its investigation into the Oct. 23, 2009, death of Jeff Hughes, who was shot repeatedly by Nanaimo RCMP.]
Victim raised safety fears
before fatal stabbing
Accused killer moved into building just three days before attack
Katie DeRosa, Cindy E. Harnett and Sandra McCulloch, Victoria Times Colonist, Nov. 12, 2010
Scene of a police standoff with a suspect after a man was stabbed
and killed in the former Traveller’s Inn on Gorge Road East.
Photo: Sarah Petrescu, Times Colonist
A man was stabbed and killed at the City Metro Suites, a former
Traveller’s Inn motel, in the 600-block of Gorge Road East Thursday.
Sgt. Mike Yeager, Forensic Identification Services, was at the scene.
Photo: Debra Brash
A man was stabbed and killed at the City Metro Suites, a former
Traveller’s Inn motel, in the 600-block of Gorge Road East Thursday.
Sgt. Mike Yeager, Forensic Identification Services, was at the scene.
Photo: Debra Brash
Scene of a police standoff with a suspect after a man was stabbed
and killed in the former Traveller’s Inn on Gorge Road East.
Photo: Sarah Petrescu, Times Colonist
Victoria police are recommending murder charges against a 26-year-old man in connection with the stabbing death of a tenant at a former motel.
Frederiko Kodiak Louie is in custody after a telebail hearing Friday morning. He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 18.
Louie was arrested following the death on Thursday of Mark Kenneth Henderson, 35, at an apartment in City Metro Suites, a former Traveller’s Inn, at 626 Gorge Rd. East.
The accused had moved into the building three days earlier, placed there by the Victoria Integrated Community Outreach Team, a group of health workers, social outreach workers and police officers set up to provide housing and support to street people who suffer from mental illness and addictions.
Louie has an extensive criminal history, including break-and-enters and breaches of conditions. In September 2009, he was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon.
Henderson was stabbed to death after he asked a fellow tenant, whom he had never met, to keep the noise down, said his former girlfriend, Jennifer Lyon. Police reported an altercation that escalated into a stabbing.
Henderson stumbled back to his room and bled to death despite the efforts of B.C. Ambulance paramedics.
Known to neighbours as a “gentle giant” because of his six-foot-three stature, Henderson was the son of a doctor. While he was a big man, he was not one to provoke a fight, Lyon said.
Henderson had previously been on the street and struggled with alcoholism, Lyon said.
He had lived in the motel since February and was well-liked by fellow residents, but was talking about moving out of the suites because he did not feel safe there.
“I think he wanted out very badly,” Lyon said, adding that it made his death all the more tragic. “Yes, there was alcoholism, but I don’t think any alcoholic deserves to live in a violent, crack-infested motel.”
Lyon said she had gone with Henderson to seek help at a Vancouver Island Health Authority addiction services clinic, but he was put on a wait list and only received a handful of one-on-one counselling sessions.
Lyon and Henderson were in a relationship for seven years. They split up two years ago, but remained close friends.
In 2003, Henderson was charged with trafficking in a controlled substance. In July 2007 and February 2008, he was charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and, in July 2009, he was charged with possession of stolen goods valued at less than $5,000.
Rev. Al Tysick, of the Open Door shelter, said Henderson did not cause trouble, but rather he “was someone who wanted to solve issues.”
“He never asked for anything,” Tysick said.
Lyon said Henderson’s death makes her wonder whether low-rent motels are becoming “ghettos.”
The 27-room City Metro Suites was sold to Tim Quocksister of Victoria and a business partner in 2009 for $1.376 million. It was a Traveller’s Inn before owner John Asfar went into bankruptcy.
At the time, Quocksister said he hoped that making more affordable residences available would help alleviate homelessness.
Quocksister said Henderson’s death was an isolated incident and his managers work hard to screen new tenants as best they can.
He said he has accepted many Victoria Integrated Community Outreach Team clients in the past. “We have to rely on VICOT to do their job to screen individuals,” Quocksister said.
John Brawn, an acting manager for VIHA, who is in charge of the south Island Assertive Community Treatment teams, said every client is screened and assessed for risk based on their backgrounds.
The team then decides what kind of support services a person needs when housed, which could include daily visits or counselling. He said he could not speak about individuals for privacy reasons.
“If a person is involved with the police or the corrections system we gather information from other stakeholders as well,” Brawn said. “If we knew a client had been incarcerated we would take that into account.”
Outreach team members also have close contact with probation officers, Brawn said.
The City of Victoria has purchased two Traveller’s Inn motels on Gorge Road and Queens Avenue, with plans to turn them into social housing supported by the Native Friendship Centre and Victoria Cool Aid Society.
Henderson’s death was Victoria’s third homicide this year.
A green light to kill
Jeff Hughes’ death is an indictment
of callous, cowardly Canadian police
Previous stories about Jeff Hughes:
As the Jeff Hughes investigation drags on,
police reveal almost nothing about his death. More...
Those inexcusably long cop-on-cop investigations
have to be a deliberate ploy to compromise justice. More...
The law should apply to police and citizens in equal measure.
So why the silence on Jeff Hughes’ death? More...
After a 16-month delay, the province finally calls
a coroner’s inquest — but not for another five months.
The inquest can’t even apply blame or find fault. More...
It’s an airtight cover-up, but it still stinks.
Police say their trigger-happy colleague is innocent — period.
They flatly refuse to release even the most basic facts
about Jeff Hughes’ death. More...
Go to News and Comment page