B.C. man charged with murder after death in Sicamous last year

A 57-year-old man has been charged in relation to his uncle's death last summer in Sicamous, B.C., police say. 

This case is also the first of three homicides that have happened since August 2023 in Sicamous, a municipality of over 2,600 people that is just under 100 kilometres east of Kamloops, according to the RCMP. 

They added that it is the second to have resulted in charges. 

According to a Saturday press release, Wayne Sirvio was reported missing to the Sicamous RCMP on Aug. 2, 2023.

Police say they located his body on a rural property in the Shuswap municipality three days later, and began conducting a homicide investigation into what they believed to be a "targeted incident."

More than a year later, the RCMP says the B.C. Prosecution Service approved a charge of second-degree murder against Danny Anthony Sirvio of Sicamous on Friday. 

Second-degree murder is generally defined as a deliberate killing that occurs without planning. The minimum sentence for anyone found guilty is life in prison with no parole eligibility for 10 years.

The charge has not been proven in court.

In the press release, Staff Sgt. Jason Smart with the Southeast District Major Crime Unit (SED MCU) attributed the investigation's resolution to the "effective co-ordination" between multiple RCMP units including those in Sicamous, Salmon Arm, Chilliwack as well as the Forensic Identification Services and the SED MCU.

Sicamous Mayor Colleen Anderson told CBC News Saturday that she is grateful to hear about the arrest in this case. 

"Our community is very appreciative," said the mayor. 

Three homicides in a year

Anderson raised public safety concerns earlier this summer, after the small community saw three homicides since August 2023. 

In February, Sicamous RCMP said a man was fatally shot in the parking lot of the Best Western Hotel along the Trans-Canada Highway.

And most recently, 66-year-old Jo Ann Jackson was found dead in the driveway of a local mobile home park in June.

The RCMP first arrested a man but later released him on several conditions in relation to Jackson's death. Provincial prosecutors then approved a second-degree murder charge against him, after he was arrested against a few days later. 

Following her death, the District of Sicamous also requested a meeting with the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General to address the worries around public safety.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth told CBC News at the time that he was committed to ensuring community safety and addressing acts of violence with the "full force of the law."