Second-degree murder charge laid in 2020 Tofino, B.C. killing

Police on Vancouver Island have announced a murder charge has been laid in the suspicious death of a 47-year-old man in Tofino, B.C., two years ago.

Luke Priddle, 25, was arrested in Nanaimo on Monday and has been charged with second-degree murder, the RCMP’s Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit said Wednesday.

The investigation began on Dec. 20, 2020, when Mounties in Tofino were called to a home on Chesterman Beach Road to check on a man’s welfare.

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They arrived to find the victim dead. “Observations at the scene” indicated the death was suspicious.

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That same day, police took one person into custody in Nanaimo, but released them without charge.

Police have not confirmed if Priddle is the same individual arrested the day the body was discovered.

Priddle has also been charged with robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

He was remanded into custody and is due back in court on Jan. 18, 2023.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit at 250-380-6211.