Sooke man charged with manslaughter in shooting death of 42-year-old father
A Vancouver Island man is facing multiple charges, including manslaughter, in the shooting death of a 42-year-old father of two young boys near Sooke, B.C., last year.
Sooke resident Mike Leier was found in medical distress in the 8500 block of West Coast Road, near Otter Point, around 9:45 p.m. on March 12, 2023.
Mounties arrived on scene to find the man had died, police said in a statement at the time.
"Preliminary investigations revealed the man was likely injured in a remote wilderness area near Jordan River," the statement said, noting investigators did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the public.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit took conduct of the suspicious death investigation with assistance from the Sooke RCMP.
Now one year later, Adam John Steenbergen, who was born in 1990, has been charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm, one count of careless use of a firearm, and two counts of loading a prohibited or restricted firearm, according to court records.
Heather Leier, the victim's wife, confirmed the man's identity to CTV News following the shooting.
Family and friends of the slain man set up an online fundraiser in the days after his death to help pay for funeral costs and child care.
"The community has lost such an incredible person. He was a husband, father, friend and a son," the fundraising page said. "He will be missed dearly and has left such an impact on so many people's hearts."
Steenbergen is scheduled to appear in Western Communities provincial court on March 28.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.