Police say a recovery house worker whose body was found Tuesday in New Westminster and the man accused of killing him knew each other.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team arrested 25-year-old Steven Rogers on Wednesday. Rogers, who made a court appearance Friday morning, has been charged with the second-degree murder of recovery house worker Jason Collett.
Rogers and 38-year-old Collett knew each other, according to police. Because the case is before the courts, IHIT did not elaborate on the relationship between the men in a release, saying only that the incident “was not a random attack.”
Collett’s body was discovered at roughly 5 p.m. on Tuesday at the sober house where he was living, which is operated by the Last Door Recovery Society.
He worked as a crane operator by day and an evening support worker by night, according to a statement on Last Door’s Facebook page.
“Whether Jason was waving at you from a crane tower over metrotown, pruning a tree, or working through some written exercises with a client, he was kind, courteous, considerate and diligent,” it said. “We have grown because of him and will grow more as we learn from this most devastating experience.”
Rogers' next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 8.
