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UPDATE: IHIT names victim in Tuesday’s homicide in Chilliwack

Homicide team asking for public’s help in shooting death of 42-year-old Christine Denham

Three days after the shooting on Tuesday at a house on Victor Street in Chilliwack the case was declared a homicide, and now the victim has been named.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is asking for public help to find out what 42-year-old Christine Denham was doing at a house on Victor Street on Feb. 26.

Two broken windows on the house on Victor Street where there was a shooting on Feb. 26 that left a woman in her 40s in critical condition. (Paul Henderson/ The Progress)

“IHIT detectives are working with the Chilliwack RCMP Serious Crime Unit to identify and interview key witnesses to determine a motive behind Christine Denham’s murder,” IHIT spokesperson Cpl. Frank Jang said in a press release issued March 2. “Anyone who knew what Ms. Denham was doing or who she was meeting with on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 is urged to contact IHIT immediately.”

Initially Denham was declared in critical condition, but she succumbed to her injuries on March 1.

IHIT is now on the case of the city’s first homicide of 2019.

It was just after 1 p.m. on Feb. 26 when the Chilliwack RCMP received a report of a woman who had been shot in the 9400-block of Victor Street, between Bole and Cleveland avenues.

• READ MORE: WATCH: Shooting reported in downtown Chilliwack

IHIT is working closely with its partners from the Chilliwack RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Services and the B.C. Coroners Service to gather evidence.

Investigators believe this was not a random incident and there are no indications so far to link this shooting to any gang conflict.

Chilliwack RCMP stated early on that the shooting had nothing to do with an alleged threat posted on social media by a Chilliwack middle school student on Feb. 24.

They also said they did not believe it was related to a subsequent shooting on Feb. 28 that saw a 23-year-old man suffer non-life-threatening injuries on South Sumas Road near Sardis secondary. A 19-year-old is in custody in relation to that case.

• READ MORE: Youth won’t be charged for posting gun photo, say Chilliwack RCMP

• READ MORE: VIDEO: 23-year-old male injured in shooting in south Chilliwack late Thursday


@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com

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RCMP on scene of a shooting on Victor Street near Bole Avenue in Chilliwack on Feb. 26. The female in her 40s shot was pronounced dead on March 1. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress) RCMP on scene of a shooting on Victor Street near Bole Avenue on Tuesday. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Two broken windows on the house where there was a shooting that left a woman in her 40s in critical condition. (Paul Henderson/ The Progress)
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RCMP were still on the scene on Feb. 27 of a shooting at a house on Victor Street in Chilliwack that occurred around 1 p.m. on Feb. 26. A woman in her 40s is in critical condition and a suspect is at large. (Paul Henderson/ The Progress)