Image: LinkedIn / Melissa Blimkie.

By The Canadian Press

B.C. man sentenced to life in prison for killing ex-partner, says IHIT

Feb 17, 2026 | 2:16 PM

BURNABY — A British Columbia man convicted of killing his girlfriend has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole for 12 years.

Everton Downey, who is now 35 years old, was found guilty of second-degree murder last August in the death of 25-year-old Melissa Blimkie from North Vancouver, B.C.

Mounties in Burnaby, B.C., were called on Dec. 19, 2021, to Metrotown Mall, where officers found Blimkie with stab wounds, and she later died of her injuries in hospital.

Officers with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team collected evidence for several weeks, and Downey was charged with second-degree murder in January 2022.

Police say Downey and Blimkie were in a relationship for “some time” before the murder, and Downey was sentenced on Friday in B.C. Supreme Court.

Missing teen

14-year-old boy reported missing: Abbotsford PD

12h ago

No injuries

Chilliwack RCMP investigating fire near Ryder Lake

14h ago

Wellness Centre

Chilliwack mayor looking forward to opening of new shelter

18h ago

Cpl. Esther Tupper with the homicide team says Blimkie’s murder was a “tragic instance of intimate partner violence” that devastated the woman’s family and community.

According to an obituary notice published by Burquitlam Funeral Home, Blimkie attended Our Lady of the Assumption Elementary and Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary Schools in Port Coquitlam. She was a graduate of Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Her time at SFU also included an international term at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Melissa was very active in dance and acrobatics during her school years. She also loved to travel and managed to visit many destinations in her 25 years, including numerous locations in Canada and the United States, as well as Colombia, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia (Bali), Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

The funeral notice said her family extended thanks to first responders who worked diligently to save her and made sure she did not die alone, as well as the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team for their professionalism and compassion, and Burnaby RCMP Victim Services for their support when the family needed it most.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

Fraser Valley Today reporter Mike Vanden Bosch contributed to this report.