I have been off-line for a couple of days watching the Blue Jays in Seattle (which was very fun!)
But I’m back now and wanted to update you on the arrest of three suspects in connection to a kidnapping and the double murder of a man and a woman in the house on Dieppe Place in East Vancouver Saturday,
Harinam Ananda Cox, 21, Shamil Amir Ali, 22, and Gopal Figueredo, 24, have now been charged with kidnapping without the use of a firearm, unlawful confinement or imprisonment, extortion and aggravated assault.
Vancouver Police announced the arrests Tuesday, but did not release the suspects’ names nor the fact that charges have now been laid. My colleague Jennifer Saltman confirmed the arrests at the court registry.
The three, who have histories with police prior to their most recent arrest, have not been charged with murder.
The VPD released the names of the victims of Saturday’s slaying. They are 24-year-old Xuan Vanvy Bacao and 29-year-old Samantha Le. A four-year-old child was found hiding and physically unharmed in the house.
The VPD also confirmed that there had been a kidnapping from the Dieppe Place house.
“Evidence gathered by police showed that along with the two murders, a man had also been kidnapped from the home. Police believed the murders and abduction were targeted incidents,” Sgt. Brian Montague said in a news release. “Yesterday (Monday) afternoon, across multiple municipalities in the Lower Mainland, police rescued the kidnap victim and took several people into custody.”
The arrests took place in New Westminster.
Unfortunately two bystanders were injured – one seriously – when a police dog bit him. The other bystander, a woman, was injured when the suspect car hit the bystanders’ car.
The Independent Investigation Office is looking into the case of the police dog bite. The other injury was not considered serious enough to warrant an IIO investigation.
Anyone with information about these murders is asked to call the Vancouver Police Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
