Skip to content

Victim of Abbotsford apartment homicide identified

Clarence Crothers, 62, was found deceased Tuesday morning
web1_copy_170707-ABB-Clarence-Crothers_1
Clarence Crothers, 62, has been identified as the victim of a homicide this week in an apartment complex on Braun Avenue.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has confirmed that the death yesterday in an Abbotsford apartment building is a murder.

Police have identified the victim as 62-year-old Clarence John Crothers.

Cpl. Meghan Foster of IHIT said Crothers was last spoken with at home on Monday at 10 p.m.

His body was found the following morning in a suite in the McMath apartment building in the 33000 block of Braun Avenue. The building is one of two affordable-housing developments for seniors owned and managed by the Lynnhaven Society.

Police and ambulance were called at about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday to a “suspicious circumstance” in the building.

Police have not elaborated on what precipitated the call.

When they arrived, a deceased man was located who had sustained injuries “consistent with homicide,” Foster said. IHIT then took over the investigation.

Foster said IHIT is working with the Abbotsford Police Department and the BC Coroners Service to determine what led to the homicide.

She said investigators will continue to canvass the neighbourhood for answers.

“It remains early in the investigation, and police are working tirelessly to determine the motive for this tragic death,” Foster said.

“Mr. Crothers was not known to police, and a priority of our investigation is to speak with anyone who knew him.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-4448, email ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

web1_170707-ABB-Clarence-Crothers_2
A forensics identification unit and an Abbotsford Police patrol car were at an apartment complex on Braun Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, where officers were investigating a suspicious death. (Vikki Hopes/Abbotsford News)


Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
Read more