News release
Man found guilty after the 2021 homicide of Melissa Blimkie in Burnaby
August 26, 2025
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Burnaby, British Columbia
From: IHIT
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File # 2021-1543
Guilty verdict in the death of Melissa Blimkie.
Background:
On December 19, 2021, at around 11:40 a.m., Burnaby RCMP responded to the Metrotown Mall at 4800 Kingsway, Burnaby, for multiple calls of assistance. Frontline officers arrived and found one victim with stab wounds who was then transported to hospital, later succumbing to her injuries.
The victim was identified as 25-year-old Melissa Blimkie from North Vancouver.
Following several weeks of investigation, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) attained sufficient evidence for charges. On January 19, 2022, the BC Prosecution Service laid a charge of second-degree degree murder against 31-year-old Everton Downey. The two were in a relationship for some time prior to the homicide.
Update:
On August 21, 2025, Everton Downey, now 34 years old, appeared at the Vancouver Supreme Court where Justice Heather Holmes found Mr. Downey guilty of second-degree murder in relation to the homicide of Melissa Blimkie.
"This was a tragic instance of intimate partner violence that has had a devastating impact on Melissa’s family and her community," says IHIT spokesperson Corporal Esther Tupper. "IHIT would like to thank our policing partners across the region for their work throughout this investigation. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled in the coming weeks."