Here are the top stories for the week.
Kelowna RCMP make arrest in fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Elijah Beauregard
The Kelowna RCMP have made an arrest in relation to the summer 2019 stabbing death of Elijah Beauregard.
Beauregard, 16, was stabbed shortly before 11:30 p.m. on June 27 near the intersection of Bernard Avenue and Water Street in downtown Kelowna. He succumbed to his injuries three days later.
The fatal stabbing prompted a homicide investigation by the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crime Unit (SCU). Police announced that the SCU took an 18-year-old woman into custody on Feb. 21, 2020. A charge of manslaughter has been laid in the matter.
Okanagan youth drink, smoke and have sex more than anywhere else in B.C.
When it comes to young people drinking alcohol, using cannabis, vaping and having sex, the Okanagan takes the cake, according to a recently published survey.
Kelowna metropolitan area surges above 217,000 people: Report
Kelowna’s central metropolitan area (CMA) is continuing to climb, according to a recent Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC) report.
Between 2018 and 2019, the report said Kelowna’s CMA population grew by 1.7 per cent from around 213,000 to 217,000 people.
Surrey man charged with murder in West Kelowna tries to change guilty plea
A Surrey man accused of a 2018 West Kelowna murder shocked a Kelowna court twice this week.
Following an impromptu guilty plea to the second-degree murder of Surrey resident Rama Gauravarapu on Feb. 25, Tejwant Danjou surprisingly applied to retract his plea the following day on Feb. 26.
Trial of Surrey man accused in West #Kelowna murder moving forward https://t.co/XXifyzfDCr
— Kelowna Capital News (@KelownaCapNews) February 28, 2020
Racist incidents on the rise in the Okanagan as coronavirus spreads
Over the past week, two separate incidents of racial stereotyping have prompted controversy in the Okanagan.
The first incident occurred over the weekend of Feb. 23. when two Kelowna, B.C. realtors posted internet memes that made fun of Chinese culture and China in connection to the coronavirus.
The second incident in the Okanagan happened in Penticton on Feb. 21 when the Penticton Chinese community place of gathering was vandalized in an attack that was allegedly racially-motivated.
Kelowna RCMP to further investigate 12 sexual assault cases, create sexual assault unit
The Kelowna RCMP will be further investigating 12 sexual assault cases that were deemed “unfounded” in 2018 and 2019 and create a new sexual assault unit in response to public outcry about how the police force investigated dozens of sexual assault cases over the past two years.
