B.C. man’s killing spurred housing law reform. Relatives wonder why it’s unsolved - BERITAJA

It’s been conscionable complete a twelvemonth since Keith Scott was recovered dormant successful a Victoria supportive lodging building, and his ex-wife says their girl still asks each time why the slayer hasn’t been brought to justice.

“I don’t person an reply for her,” said Cassie Bate.

The homicide of Scott — whose assemblage was recovered by firefighters who put retired a blaze successful a portion astatine the Waterview building connected Gorge Road much than a twelvemonth agone — spurred a run to reform B.C. tenancy laws for supportive lodging buildings that passed past month.

Bate saw Scott’s assemblage aft a mortician had prepared it earlier the funeral, and decided not to fto their girl position it.

Police person not revealed Scott’s charismatic origin of death.

She believes he was changeable pinch a small-calibre firearm and past group connected fire, and she said she’s seen video footage that shows who was successful the portion pinch Scott astatine the clip of the killing.

But Bate said she could only guarantee their kid that it takes clip for constabulary to make judge they’ve done things right, and is incapable to further explicate why there’s been nary charges laid successful the case, which is being investigated by the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit.

“That’s each I person to reply for her and it really sucks,” Bate said.

Victoria constabulary said the awesome crime portion “continues to prosecute investigative avenues.”

“At this time, location is nary further accusation to merchandise to the public.”

The Waterview building is operated by Pacifica Housing, and CEO Carolina Ibarra said the portion wherever Scott was recovered dormant connected April 26, 2025, had been problematic for immoderate time, pinch group who didn’t unrecorded successful the building bringing successful weapons and causing violence.

Scott wasn’t a tenant, and Ibarra said she couldn’t remark connected the constabulary investigation.

Ibarra had said successful the days aft Scott’s decease that supportive lodging providers were hampered by tenancy regulations from dealing efficaciously pinch trespassers and group pinch weapons and convulsive behaviour.

She and different supportive lodging operators pinch the BC Coalition for Safe and Sustainable Supportive Housing called connected the provincial authorities to betterment the Residential Tenancy Act. They sewage their wish pinch Bill 11, which the authorities says will thief support weapons retired of supportive housing.

B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle said the authorities makes it easier to evict “problematic” tenants from supportive lodging buildings, while critics fearfulness the measure will exacerbate homelessness.

The measure was drafted successful consequence to operators’ concerns about unit and, specifically, tenants who person weapons, providing devices for operators to de-escalate conflicts and quickly reside information issues successful “rare incidents” of violence, Boyle said, including done impermanent removal of tenants.

Ibarra said Scott’s decease whitethorn person been avoided had the rule been connected the books beforehand.

“I deliberation location was a bully chance it could person been prevented because for starters, we would person had power complete ensuring location were nary weapons on-site,” Ibarra said.

Bill 11 whitethorn beryllium portion of Scott’s legacy, but his loved ones opportunity they were unaware his decease had prompted the calls for ineligible reform.

Lee Lucak, Scott’s cousin, has joined protests extracurricular the courthouse successful Surrey, B.C., on pinch different family members of homicide victims whose cases stay unsolved.

Lucak said her relative had been trying to move his life about aft his engagement successful the supplier waste and acquisition had seen him imprisoned aft falling successful pinch the incorrect people.

“He ended up successful jailhouse and he didn’t want to spell backmost there, and he was like, ‘Why americium I surviving for illustration this erstwhile I could conscionable beryllium a dad?'”

She said they were much for illustration siblings than cousins, increasing up very adjacent together and attending the aforesaid precocious schoolhouse successful Langley, B.C.

“He looked retired for maine and I looked retired for him,” she said. “After I recovered retired he was killed, I couldn’t moreover get retired of bed. I was conscionable heartbroken. It was for illustration losing my champion friend.”

Lucak said she’s connected pinch different relatives of homicide victims who consciousness fto down by the justness system, wondering if and erstwhile charges mightiness beryllium laid against those responsible.

She said there’s video grounds from the time of Scott’s death, and she and Bate person some tried to find retired arsenic overmuch arsenic they could connected their ain arsenic constabulary haven’t shared immoderate accusation about the origin of decease aliases position of the investigation.

“We cognize the names of everybody that were involved,” she said. “It feels for illustration he was pushed aside. And I deliberation that’s different logic why I do the protest, is because it just, it lets them cognize that we’re not going to extremity fighting for answers and charges, that he’s important to us. He whitethorn not beryllium important to you, but he’s important to each of us.”

Victoria Leonard, Scott’s woman astatine the time, said she visited his gravesite connected the day of his death.

She said his sidesplitting has affected galore lives, and she’s still haunted by nightmares.

“I will ne'er person him back. It’s a tragic point and it’s caused a batch of symptom and suffering successful my life arsenic good arsenic his family’s life, his friends’ lives,” she said. “Keith was a awesome person. He was for illustration the funniest feline you’d ever meet. Just a immense heart. He was a ace typical personification to maine and we shared a batch of things successful common.”

Leonard said it’s unclear precisely what happened the time Scott died, and she was excessively saddened to woody pinch investigators who reached retired to her, having small religion successful constabulary fixed the unfortunate successful the lawsuit had a criminal history.

“I conscionable wanted to beryllium near alone,” she said. “They didn’t respect my boundaries.”

Patricia Scott, the man’s aunt, said his mother Roxanne is still excessively surgery up about her son’s decease to speak about it a twelvemonth later.

She said the family is still successful the acheronian about the origin of decease and what precisely occurred successful the portion that day, and his mother has had to inquire constabulary for updates about the investigation.

She said what is known is that 5 people, including Scott, were successful the portion that time earlier the doorway was shut, and he didn’t travel retired alive.

“There was 5 group successful that place. Keith mislaid his life there. So there’s only 4 group near to blame. How difficult is it to fig it out? They person video footage and everything,” Patricia Scott said.

Cassie Bate said she believes that aft Scott was changeable and the different group wrong the portion fled, the chartless perpetrator returned and group the spot connected fire.

She said her ex-husband was a bully dada and good loved by her family, contempt their narration breaking down, and said achy kidney issues that started successful his younker saw him put “on difficult narcotics to thief curb the pain…. That is what spiralled him into addiction.”

“After we separated, he went wholly downhill,” she said.

She said the B.C. government’s move to alteration tenancy laws for supportive lodging successful the aftermath of Scott’s decease is simply a bully point because “supportive lodging should beryllium a safe place.”

But Bate said she worried the criminal lawsuit had been put connected the “back burner.”

“You cognize everybody successful the video. You’ve sewage the video, like, do thing about it. You cognize what I mean?” she said.

Bate said she recalled reference comments connected news stories that reported connected Scott’s death, dismissing him arsenic “just different skid successful the ground” for having died successful a supportive lodging building wherever group are stigmatized.

“I don’t deliberation that it sewage the attraction that it should have. Like, he was doing good. He was doing better. He sewage retired of jailhouse … and he was trying to do amended and trying to beryllium successful his kid’s life,” she said.

“He had wellness issues erstwhile he was a kid and they put them connected ace difficult drugs. And past what happens from that? It conscionable snowballs.”

“It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a bully guy,” she said. “Nobody deserves to beryllium murdered.”