A Penticton teenager has been charged with second degree murder for the stabbing death which occurred shortly after 3 p.m., Saturday afternoon at 1605 Hatfield Avenue, not far from Columbia Park in the centre of the city.
A 19-year-old male is expected to make a brief appearance in Penticton court this morning on multiple charges in relation to the stabbing death of 53-year-old Karl Alkier of Penticton.
A publication ban is in effect.
According to police, the suspect is the son of the victim\’s partner and other family members were present at the household Saturday afternoon at the time of the alleged incident. Those present at the assault have since been interviewed by police.
Alkier was declared dead at Penticton Regional Hospital. The suspect was taken into police custody shortly after the incident and remains there pending the results of a bail hearing. Police were called to the scene upon the request of the B.C. Ambulance Services.
\"This is a matter of domestic family violence in a sense, showing that at times it takes place in different ways, shapes and forms,\" stated Cpl Dan Moskaluk of the RCMP, reading from a prepared statement, Sunday afternoon.
\"This is a senseless death magnified by the time of year when we all expect to be sharing time with family and not in dealing with a sudden death of any nature. Our deepest sympathies are extended to the families who were involved and affected by this death.\"
Neighbours on Hatfield Avenue were shocked to learn that a violent death would occur in an otherwise peaceful neighbourhood. The home was occupied by a single mother with two teenage sons.
\"They were average people. I\’d wave at them all the time,\" said one neighbour, who asked not to be identified.
\"They\’d often have barbecues with the other family in the duplex. The mother was salt-of-the-earth and very loyal to her sons.\"
Police were still guarding the house on Sunday afternoon which was surrounded with yellow tape.
This is Penticton\’s second homicide of 2009.
On May 24, Terence Dale Wooley died in hospital one mother after being severely beaten outside Slack Alice\’s Nightclub. The 51-year-old had been unconscious from the time of his severe beating and was never able to speak with police. No charges have been laid in that incident.
