Jian Hua 'James' Wu, a father of two children, has been charged with seconddegree murder after allegedly killing his wife in a Richmond apartment complex.
On Monday, a short, thin Wu, wearing an oversized grey t-shirt, briefly appeared in Richmond Provincial Court along with his defense lawyer David Baker and a translator.
Wu will remain in custody until his next court appearance, scheduled for May 27 to discuss bail proceedings.
Outside the courthouse, Baker said he had just met with Wu and did not know many details about the incident. Baker confirmed the charges and the fact Wu had two children, while noting his client, a Canadian citizen, was "very concerned."
According to Cpl. Dominic Duchesneau, of RCMP's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, Richmond Mounties arrived at the Panorama Place apartment complex at 7040 Granville Ave. just before 2 p.m on Sunday after receiving a call from a resident who heard a domestic dispute unravel.
There, police found the deceased woman and "a man who appeared to be related to the incident," said Duchesneau, adding Wu's wife, whose name has not been disclosed, was in her 30s, while Wu is 41 years old.
"First responders came to the conclusion the male was associated with the event," said Duchesneau, adding at that point, IHIT was called to investigate the scene.
Duchesneau noted alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the homicide and police records did not show a history of violence.
As a result of the crime taking place within a hallway of the apartment complex, two residents had to be extracted through a window by firefighters so as not to contaminate the crime scene.
"The incident started in one apartment unit and went to a different location outside the apartment. It's fair to say it wasn't in one unit and the crime scene is the entire floor," said Duchesneau.
Richmond Fire Rescue made the short trip across the street to extract the two residents; the apartment is located across the street from the No. 1 fire hall at the corner of Granville and Gilbert Road.
Duchesneau said the crime took place on one of the higher floors and, as of Monday, some residents were not allowed back in their homes.
Duchesneau said a homicide scene at an apartment requires more officers and poses unique challenges as opposed to one that occurs inside a single-family home.
"It certainly requires more police officers to secure the crime scene to make sure no residents go from one floor to another.
"To preserve the integrity of the file, you don't want them to see things that only the suspect may see," he said.
The incident serves as a reminder from health and community workers in the domestic violence field for the public to be aware of help networks and organizations that can assist victims of abusive relationships.
"These stories trigger people and heighten the potential for outreach," said Belinda Boyd, community engagement leader at Vancouver Coastal Health.
The Richmond Family Violence Prevention Network is a group of organizations that works to help prevent domestic violence. Help can be reached at 604-270-6229.
The homicide took place a half block away from CHIMO, a crisis services organization that also specializes in reaching out to newcomers.
Settlement workers can speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi and Tagalog among many other languages. CHIMO can be contacted by calling 604-279-7077.
This homicide marks the fifth murder or attempted murder of a woman in B.C. in as many weeks with links to domestic violence.
In at least three of the attacks, police had been previously called to the residence, which raises troubling questions about to what extent law enforcement is able to prevent such incidents, said Hilla Kerner of Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter.
When women in abusive situations hear such stories, the message they take away is that police will not be able to protect them from their partners, she said.
"Every time there is a case like this, abusive men will take the paper and tell (women): This is what's going to happen to you," she said.
Women who come to the shelter fleeing abusive relationships frequently complain of a weak police response that does not leave them feeling any safer from their partners and haphazard enforcement of restraining order breaches, she said.
"Often the police will ask the woman what does she want to do, when it should not really be up to the woman. It's up to the police to stop this man."
However, Richmond RCMP Cpl. Stephanie Ashton, who ran that detachment's domestic violence unit for three years, said provincial policies dictate that officers must arrest a suspect if they have reasonable grounds to believe domestic violence has occurred.
If you have information regarding this homicide you are asked by police to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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