A suspect is in custody and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the high-profile killing of 17-year-old Ethan Bespflug on a bus in Surrey, B.C. last week.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said officers arrested 20-year-old Kaiden Mintenko of Burnaby at a residence on Sunday. The charge was laid on Monday afternoon.
“They were known to each other through a third party,” Sgt. Timothy Pierotti said in a Monday press conference. “We can confirm this was not a random attack.”
Mintenko was known to police, he added.
Abbotsford’s Bespflug was on his way home on April 11 when an altercation took place on the bus. He died of injuries sustained on board at 100th Avenue and King George Boulevard around 9:30 p.m.
Pierotti said investigators are still determining the exact nature of the relationship between him and Mintenko, who remains in custody.
“Although there is nothing that can bring Ethan back or make sense of this tragedy, I hope this update brings some level of comfort to his friends, family and the community,” said Surrey RCMP Asst. Commissioner Brian Edwards.
Bespflug’s family has spoken publicly about the “complete shock” of his death and the incalculable grief and loss that have followed.
His mother, Holly Indridson, previously told Global News her son was an independent young man who loved to travel by transit. On the night of his death, she said Bespflug had texted his best friend to say there was a girl on the bus who didn’t like him, and he was going to try and get off.
That was the last time his friend heard from him.
“I have him on GPS,” Indridson said last week. “I was just lying in bed watching that he got to the bus stop … then all of a sudden he started moving to Royal Columbian Hospital.”
Bespflug is one of multiple victims of attacks on buses and SkyTrains, or at public transit stations, in Metro Vancouver this month.
Since April 1, there have been another two knife attacks on a bus and SkyTrain in Surrey, a string of alleged assaults and a knife-slashing by the Millennium line in Burnaby, a stabbing at the New Westminster Columbia SkyTrain station, an assault on a downtown Vancouver bus, and one on a West Vancouver bus.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police Chief Dave Jones said there is “no commonality” between these incidents, and the number of incidents is an “anomaly.” The spate of assaults, slashings and stabbings has, however, prompted transit police to increase their patrols on routes, he said.
Another 24 community safety officers will soon be added to that roster as well, TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said at a press conference last Friday.
Politicians at all levels of government have also condemned the violence and promised to provide additional resources to make the public feel safe again.
Speaking about safety in Surrey in particular, Edwards added that mobile street enforcement teams have been reassigned to patrol problematic transit areas.
“We need to show a visible presence to reassure members of the public,” he said. “Such violence generates fear in our community.”
Bespflug’s family, meanwhile, continues to grapple with their crippling loss.
The teen is described as a “kind and gentle” soul who would often ask neighbours if they needed their driveways shovelled during the winter, and who would care for his younger siblings when his mother needed a break.
“He cared about others,” Indridson told Global News. “He was like my best little buddy.”
Bespflug has two siblings in Vernon and two that lived with him, his mother and stepfather. Indridson said he was “the best brother ever,” and she doesn’t know how to move on without him.
“Our lives are destroyed,” she said. “There’s no coming back from this.”
Two GoFundMe campaigns have been set up, which Indridson said will go towards her son’s funeral. She said she hopes to bury him alongside her mom.
— with files from Amy Judd
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