Mounties arrested a man shortly after they found a woman dead in a Whalley apartment, according to neighbours – though the RCMP won’t say if the arrest is connected to the suspicious death.
People in the apartment next to where the woman’s body was found say they were roused by sirens, saw police rush into the building, and some minutes later pull out a man with a cane.
“I saw them pulling him out to the car and popping the trunk and pulling his stuff out there, and throwing him in the back,” said neighbour Chloe Marsh, adding that the man was in handcuffs.
Another neighbour, Kyle Braun, told CTV News that he couldn’t make out the man’s face at night, but he could tell that an officer with him was holding what appeared to be the man’s cane.
“I saw them bringing a guy out, and I saw one of the cops holding a cane,” he said. “He was in handcuffs, there were three officers, and they just seemed to be taking him out to the vehicle.”
He was driven away in the police car about an hour after that, he said.
Police haven’t said much about the incident, including not saying the age of the dead woman or confirming the arrest.
Sgt. Stephanie Ashton said the Surrey RCMP was called to a residence near 127th Street and 103 Avenue at 11 p.m. Friday night.
Those officers referred the case to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team around 1:30am when it was determined the death was suspicious, she said.
“This is not believed to be a random act,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement. “We have no reason to believe that residents in this area are at risk at this time.”
Still, those living nearby said it’s unnerving to hear about a suspicious death in the neighbourhood, which is an aging development with rental apartments. Most people spoken to by CTV News had lived there only for several months.
“I never met the lady, but I have concerns about this happening in the neighbourhood,” one man said.
“It’s sad, it’s scary, it’s not good at all,” said another neighbour, Tammy Mahaney.
