Charges laid in beating death of homeless man in Campbell River

Daily News Update from CHLY 101.7FM

COVID-19 variants a growing concern in British Columbia

Concerns over new COVID-19 variants have prompted the province to step up genome testing. There are 14 cases of the U.K. variant in B.C., all of which are linked to international travel and those in contact with those travellers. There are four cases of the South African variant but officials do not know how those cases were transmitted. The provincial health officer says genome testing is now being targeted to any international traveller who tests positive for COVID-19 along with random sampling in areas with outbreaks or a high number of cases. Dr. Bonnie Henry says 11,000 genome tests have been completed and testing will continue to ramp up.

"This is one of the things that is most concerning for us right now. We are seeing some transmissions in some communities of this variant and this is one of the things that is factoring into the decisions that we have to make together over the next coming weeks.”
—Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Henry says data on the variants and next steps will be announced on Friday. That's when current COVID-19 health orders are set to expire. Four cases of the UK variant were detected on Vancouver Island. Island Health says one traveller and three household members tested positive for the variant, but those cases have been contained.

Man charged with second-degree murder in beating death of homeless man

A man has been charged in the beating death of a homeless man in Campbell River last October. 60-year-old Dean Dool was attacked outside the Royal Bank on Shoppers Row around 11 p.m. on October the 15th. Campbell River RCMP says Justin William Arnett has been charged with second-degree murder. Police say Arnett was arrested on an unrelated warrant last Thursday and remains in custody.

A new investigative team gives a boost to cold case murder

Meanwhile, a high-profile cold case in Victoria is getting a boost, with the creation of a new investigative team. 24-year-old realtor Lindsay Buziak was murdered 13 years ago today when she was showing a house to an unidentified couple. Saanich Police Constable Marcus Anastasiades says fresh eyes and new technology will now be applied to the investigation.

"We have established a task force, comprised of new investigators who are taking a fresh look at the case. The task force has obtained assistance from the FBI and continued support from the RCMP. Technology not available at the time of the crime has allowed us to develop new investigative leads. Advancements in fields of genealogy and DNA analysis has led to the resolution in many other cases.”
—Saanich Police Constable Marcus Anastasiades.

Anastasiades says investigators are urging those with knowledge about the crime to come forward.