VIIMCU declined to reinvestigate death before VicPD referral [Video]

A Vancouver Island woman who lost her child in 2021 said she wants an apology from Victoria’s police chief, after she was given the impression major crime investigators were actively looking into her daughter’s death.

Last Thursday, Victoria Police Department Chief Del Manak told city councillors the case of Samantha Sims-Somerville had been referred to the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU).

A key detail, however, wasn’t shared. Two weeks beforehand, VIIMCU had declined to take on the case.

“The chief was not aware of the VIIMCU decision and the latest development of the file when he spoke to council last week,” said VicPD spokesperson Cheryl Major, in an email.

Samantha died at age 18 from a toxic dose of a date rape drug. The BC Coroners Service initially determined her death was an accidental overdose, but recently reclassified it as a homicide. That prompted questions about whether VicPD …