MERRITT, B.C. (Rajeev Sharma): A 49-year-old man has been charged with second-degree following the death of his wife in Merritt, British Columbia, according to the RCMP.
Officers and paramedics responded to a residence in the city on Tuesday after reports of a woman suffering serious injuries. Pamela Jarvis, 45, was transported to a hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.
RCMP said her husband, Christopher Bernard Jarvis, had fled the scene before police arrived but was apprehended a few hours later. He has been denied bail and will remain in custody until his next court appearance, scheduled for January 6, 2026. The Southeast District Major Crime Unit is leading the investigation, but authorities have not disclosed the cause of death.
The incident has prompted an outpouring of support from friends and community members, who have started fundraising campaigns to assist Jarvis’s children.
The case also comes amid growing national attention on domestic violence legislation. Conservative MP Frank Caputo, whose private member’s bill C-225 is before Parliament, expressed condolences on social media, noting that the bill seeks to strengthen protections for victims of intimate partner violence. Proposed changes include automatically classifying the killing of an intimate partner as first-degree murder and tightening bail rules for those with previous domestic violence convictions.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s Bill C-16, tabled earlier this month, also targets gender-based crimes. If passed, it will designate femicide, including intimate partner-related killings, as first-degree murder and introduce stricter penalties for sexual offenses, including sexual deepfakes and distribution of intimate images.
Statistics Canada reports that, on average, 102 women and girls were victims of gender-based homicide annually between 2011 and 2021, with 93 per cent of these killings carried out by a male intimate partner or family member.
The tragedy in Merritt highlights ongoing concerns about domestic violence and the need for legal reforms to better protect vulnerable individuals.
