Stab wounds, not house fire, killed man in Victoria: coroner

WATCH: A strange twist in a house fire two years ago on Vancouver Island where three people died. Kylie Stanton reports.

VICTORIA – Stab wounds, not a house fire, killed a man whose body was discovered among two others in a Victoria home, a coroner’s report has concluded.

It says Mark Mitchell, 26, died of a stab wound to the back that penetrated his lung as well as burns to his entire body. He also suffered a puncture wound to his left forearm.

The other two victims, Emily Morin and Georgia Klap, died of smoke inhalation near their upstairs bedrooms.

Mitchell lived in the older, wood-framed home with the two young women and several others. They hosted a Valentine’s Day party on Feb. 15, 2013, and several guests were smoking on the porch throughout the evening, the report said.

At about 3 a.m., numerous people smelled burning plastic and found that a small fire had started on a couch on the porch where a cigarette had been dropped earlier. They threw the cushions in the yard and poured water on the smouldering couch.

Once it appeared the blaze was fully extinguished, the cushions were placed back on the sofa. At about 4:30 a.m., a resident heard crackling sounds coming from the porch and found it fully engulfed in flames.

The Victoria Fire Department arrived about 10 minutes later. Firefighters determined the blaze started in the same area where the earlier small fire was discovered.

Mitchell’s badly burned body was later discovered on the porch, covered with ashes and debris, despite the fact that he was last seen returning to his upstairs bedroom at about 2:30 a.m.

Coroner Lyn Blenkinsop found that Mitchell was on the porch for the major duration of the fire, but could not determine why he left his bedroom or at what time.

She classified Mitchell’s death as undetermined, saying his injuries could have been caused accidentally during the fire.

“The potential exists that the wounds resulted from an altercation with an unknown person or were accidentally caused in some manner when Mr. Mitchell entered the burning porch,” Blenkinsop wrote.

An investigation of the scene did not locate any objects compatible with Mitchell’s injuries, the report said.

Mitchell’s family issued a statement on Wednesday after hearing the news of the report:

The information that there were wounds, possibly indicating a stabbing, is not news to us; neither is it a surprise to us that the cause is unknown at this point. We have no information that we can add to clarify these important matters. For our part, we will continue to mourn the loss of Mark privately. Whether there needs to be or should be further official investigations is something that will have to be decided and pursued by the proper authorities.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: The information that there were wounds, possibly indicating a stabbing, is not news to us; neither is it a surprise to us that the cause is unknown at this point. We have no information that we can add to clarify these important matters. For our part, we will continue to mourn the loss of Mark privately. Whether there needs to be or should be further official investigations is something that will have to be decided and pursued by the proper authorities.

The Victoria Police Department issued a statement saying officers interviewed everyone who was at the home earlier in the evening and conducted a thorough forensic analysis of the scene.

“Our investigation concluded that this was a tragic incident,” lead investigator Sgt. Jamie McRae said in an e-mail.

“While Mr. Mitchell’s injuries included puncture wounds as outlined in the coroner’s report, our investigation concluded that there is no evidence of any foul play related to this tragedy.”

Police spokesman Bowen Osoko said there are currently no plans to re-open the investigation.

The coroner also concluded that a lack of functioning smoke detectors in the home contributed to the fire.