The Lower Mainland’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) says charges have been approved against two men in relation to the killing of a Surrey man in 2021.
On Monday, IHIT released an update on the murder of then-38-year-old Kenneth Thomas Howe, who was found dead in an industrial area of Burnaby on Aug. 12, 2021.
Police say that this past Saturday, Dec. 7, officers arrested 38-year-old John Perry Harasym in relation to the death.
“Homicide investigators obtained sufficient evidence and presented the case to the BC Prosecution Service who laid a second-degree murder charge against Mr. Harasym,” Staff Sgt. David Lee said in a statement.
“A second individual, 34-year-old Jesse River Miller, was determined to be involved after his death. On December 7, 2024, the BC Prosecution Service laid a charge of indignity to human remains against Mr. Miller,” Lee continued.
Both men remain in custody awaiting their next court appearance.
“As this matter is now before the courts, we are unable to provide additional details,” Lee said. “We hope that this is a step to obtaining some answers for the friends and family of Kenneth Howe.”
At the time of Howe’s death, police shared that they believed the killing to be targeted, however, they did not believe the victim to be linked to the Lower Mainland drug trade.