Mounties have arrested a 44-year-old man accused of attacking his estranged wife and her daughter then setting their Langley home on fire Wednesday morning.
Andre Harvey Richard was arrested during a traffic stop Thursday in Fernie, a city located about 900 kilometres east of the crime scene in B.C.’s Southern Interior.
A motorist called the RCMP to report an erratic, possibly drunk driver on Highway 3 and followed the vehicle until it stopped at the side of the road.
“It finally pulled over and he pulled in behind it,” Cpl. Holly Marks said. “The driver jumped out of the vehicle and ran into a bush.”
Officers arrived and eventually coaxed the suspect out and brought him into custody. Richard faces possible charges of attempted murder.
The RCMP allege he went into his wife Sonia Cella’s home on Wakefield Drive Wednesday and struck her in the head multiple times with an undisclosed weapon.
Her 14-year-old daughter was also allegedly attacked while trying to protect her mom.
The victims eventually managed to flee with another young boy, who was unharmed, and left a trail of blood leading to a neighbour’s home.
Richard, Cella and the children appear happy in photos posted on social media and the couple leased a car together in 2012, though court documents reveal a troubling family history.
Richard was charged with assaulting Cella in 2009 and last February was also charged with assaulting their young son.
Hours before the family’s home was set on fire, Cella appears to have started divorce proceedings. Richard was under conditions prohibiting him from contacting her at the time.
The suspect is being held in custody and Mounties expect charges will be laid within the next day.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Jon Woodward
