A man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend at a Burnaby mall in December 2021 has been ordered to stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court.
Everton Javaun Downey, 32, was charged with second degree murder in January 2022.
The charge relates to the death of 25-year-old Melissa Blimkie of North Vancouver, who was stabbed in a parkade at the Metropolis at Metrotown mall on Dec. 19, 2021 and later died in hospital, according to police reports at the time.
Downey and Blimkie had been “in a relationship” for some time before the killing, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
Downey was in Vancouver provincial court for a two-day preliminary inquiry Monday and Tuesday.
At the conclusion of the inquiry, he was ordered to stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court.
Downey’s first appearance is scheduled for April 19.
A publication ban imposed at the beginning of the hearing means the information presented at the preliminary inquiry can’t be made public.
A preliminary inquiry is a hearing used in serious criminal cases to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to order an accused to stand trial.
The evidentiary threshold to order an accused to stand trial has been described by the courts as “very low.”
Downey has not yet entered a plea, according to the court registry, and trial dates have not yet been set.
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