After initially facing charges of aggravated assault in connection with a February incident in White Rock’s Five Corners neighbourhood, a 71-year-old White Rock man has now been charged with manslaughter.
The charge was laid against Ross Banner on May 1, according to Sgt. Frank Jang, the spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Feb. 19, and drew police – including an RCMP helicopter – and other emergency crews to the scene, near a condominium complex in the 15200-block of Pacific Avenue.
The street was closed for three hours as a result of the investigation.
The victim was found in the lobby of the building with visible upper-body wounds, White Rock RCMP told Peace Arch News at the time.
A suspect was later taken into custody at a White Rock home.
Police said the two people involved in the altercation were known to each other, and the victim – identified by a family member as Don Godfrey – was a resident of the building where he was located.
Two days later, RCMP told PAN the victim had been upgraded to stable condition, but on March 4, it was reported that he had died from his injuries.
Jang said only that it “later became an IHIT investigation when the victim passed away as a result of his injuries.”
Banner is scheduled to next appear in court July 15, Jang said.
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