British Columbia’s police watchdog agency is investigating the death of a woman in the province’s interior earlier this month, in a case allegedly involving intimate partner violence.
The Independent Investigations Office says they are looking into the case after an advocacy group raised concerns that Merritt RCMP had been investigating intimate-partner violence allegations involving a local woman, who was then killed on Dec. 16.
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Police say that 45-year-old Pamela Jarvis was found at a Merritt home by police and paramedics after they were called in, with the woman suffering “significant injuries” and later dying in hospital.
The suspect, Christopher Jarvis, fled the scene but was later found and arrested by police, and the man is now facing a second-degree murder charge.
The Independent Investigations Office says police have told them that the investigation into alleged intimate-partner violence in the case had been occurring “over a period of time prior to the death,” with last contact made just days before she was killed.
The watchdog agency is now investigating whether officer action or inaction in the case is connected to the woman’s death, adding that the office will then determine whether “there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have occurred.”