Listing Of Unsolved Murders & Missing People In Canada > Other BC Locations

Brittany Baird | 22 | Murdered | Nanaimo | May 25, 2011

(1/1)

Concerned:
RCMP investigate homicide of Nanaimo woman found dead on sidewalk
 
By KATIE DeROSA, timescolonist.com May 27, 2011

Police are hunting for the killer of a 22-year-old woman whose body was found sprawled on a Nanaimo street corner after nearby residents heard screaming.

The victim has been identified as Brittany Baird, the mother of a one-year-old child.

Nanaimo RCMP received two 911 calls about 11 p.m. Wednesday, one from a caller who said a woman was sprawled lifeless on the ground at Selby Street and Milford Crescent and from another caller who reported hearing a woman screaming for help in the same area, said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Sheryl Armstrong.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue, Mounties and B.C. Ambulance found the woman dead at the scene — a residential area near Nob Hill Park, about three blocks from the city centre.

"As a result of the examination of the body, we're confident in saying it is a murder investigation," Armstrong said.

A police dog tried to track the killer but was unsuccessful, Armstrong said.

So far, police have no made no arrests but said investigators have identified several persons of interest.

Armstrong said a weapon used in the killing was recovered from the scene but would not say what it was. She did not say whether the killing is considered to be random or targeted.

Rasha Radwan, 27, who lives in the four-storey apartment building next to the park with her husband and three-year-old daughter, said she heard someone scream around 11 p.m.

"Just for a few seconds," she said. She said she looked out her fourth-floor balcony to see what was wrong and heard at least two men talking near the park.

She said she couldn't make out what they were saying or what they looked like because they were shrouded in darkness. She didn't see anyone run from the scene.

A few minutes later, she heard sirens approaching.

"Then I made the connection that something was wrong."

Louis Pouliot, 32, said he heard a woman's scream about 11 p.m. He said the neighbourhood is so infested with drugs and prostitution that the scream didn't alarm him enough to look out his window. "If she was screaming 'help, help' I would have checked. It was just one anonymous scream."

Baird's family, also Nanaimo residents, has been notified.

Armstrong did not know why Baird was in the area or whether she was with friends before the attack.

Despite police saying Baird is known to th RCMP drug squad, her criminal record consists only of a conviction for theft under $5,000. Police said she was not involved in prostitution.

Armstrong said more than 50 Mounties are investigating.

The B.C. Coroners Service has ordered an autopsy which will take place today. Until that is completed, police will not release the cause of death.

Chad Gillespie, 29, has lived in the four-storey apartment building next to the park for the past two years. He said Nob Hill Park has in the past been overrun at night by drugs and prostitution but things have been improving.

He described the 600 block of Selby Street, which is in close proximity to Victoria Road, known for illegal activity, "as that kind of rundown area that's kind of in transition."

Selby Street was also the scene of the October 2009 police shooting of Jeffrey Scott Hughes, a 48-year-old neo-Nazi who was killed by police after the escalation of what started as a noise complaint. Charges were ruled out in the death.

Police said so far they have not been able to find witnesses who saw Wednesday's attack or anyone fleeing the scene.

Anyone who may have heard or seen anything suspicious is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8744).

— with files from Postmedia News

kderosa@timescolonist.com

http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/Best+auto+bang+under/3103089/RCMP+investigate+homicide+Nanaimo+woman+found+dead+sidewalk/4843601/story.html

MSprenkels:

Two men have been arrested in the death of 22-year-old Brittany Baird of Nanaimo.

The 25-year-old Nanaimo men are accused of murdering Baird, whose screams echoed through the Nob Hill Park neighbourhood at around 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Emergency crews arrived to find Baird’s body on the grass at the corner of Milford Crescent and Selby Street.

“Based on the findings of the investigation to date, the team believes that this murder was targeted, and not a random act,” said Nanaimo RCMP in a release.

“The victim was familiar with those accused of her murder.”

The two men were arrested Saturday and are scheduled to appear in Nanaimo provincial court Tuesday. Their identities are being withheld pending their first court appearance.

Baird, who had a one-year-old son, was known to the RCMP drug squad. In May, she was given a four-month probation for theft.

The discovery of Baird’s body sparked an intensive investigation, led by the Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crimes Unit.

Police released no further details, but a news conference is scheduled for Monday.

chchan@theprovince.com



Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/arrested+death+young+Nanaimo+mother/4859805/story.html#ixzz1No3IRIRK

Navigation

[0] Message Index