Two Burnaby athletes face charges of being involved in the death of a good Samaritan at a Skytrain station last month.
Jesse Sellam, 22, is charged with the second-degree murder of James Enright, while Taitusi Vikilani, 18, faces a manslaughter and an assault charge.
“It’s a tragedy, that’s all I can say,” said Sellam’s mother, Kathryn Spencer-Sellam.
Vikilani is a prominent rugby player with the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club and a grade 12 student at Burnaby Central Secondary School.
His classmates say they can’t believe he could be involved.
“It seems surprising. He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy, no,” said Burnaby Central grade 12 student Marco Sherwood, who says he plays on the basketball team with Vikilani.
While Vikilani is 230 pounds according to his rugby player profiles, he doesn’t seem dangerous, another student said.
“He’s not that guy. He might be a big, scary-looking guy, but I don’t think he could do that,” said grade 12 student Andre Bairus.
James Enright was stabbed to death at Edmonds Skytrain station in the early hours of February 15. The RCMP says Enright stepped in to help a friend who was involved in an alteraction.
“This is a man who was innocent, got caught up in a situation, and died. It’s tragic,” said Sgt. Stephanie Ashton of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Vikilani is also charged with assault causing bodily harm against another victim that night, Victoria Heard.
Records show Sellam played soccer in Burnaby and his father coached a junior team. Neither young men have previous criminal records.
