The Vancouver Island major crime unit will now investigate the case of Victoria teenager Samantha Sims-Somerville.
The 18-year-old died from a toxic dose of GHB, a date rape drug, after attending a party in Victoria in April 2021. The death was initially ruled an accidental overdose, but the B.C. Coroners Service reclassified the death as a homicide last month.
At Victoria City Council's Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday, Victoria Police Chief Del Manak said his department has referred the case to the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit. After the meeting, he told CTV Vancouver Island they wanted an independent view from outside of Vic-PD out of an abundance of caution.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is currently investigating a complaint filed by Sims-Somerville’s mother, Tracy Sims, who is critical of Vic-PD's initial handling of the investigation and called it “absolutely inadequate.”