After a Burnaby woman died from injuries she sustained in a recent accident on the Barnet Highway which police described as “suspicious,” the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced they have now made an arrest in the case.
According to IHIT, at approximately 10 pm on November 16, the Burnaby RCMP received a report of an accident involving a 2017 charcoal grey Kia Sorento SUV in the 8000-block of Barnet Highway.
When police arrived on the scene, they found a man and woman who were transported to hospital.
Investigators said the man is expected to make a full recovery but the woman – identified as Nicole Hasselmann of Burnaby – suffered “injuries indicative of foul play” and later died in hospital.
Now, police said they have made an arrest in connection with the case.
On November 29, 2018, 31-year-old Jan Poepl was arrested and later charged with second-degree murder in connection with Hasselmann’s death. He is scheduled to appear before a judge in BC Provincial Court on November 30, 2018.
Police described the incident as “isolated” and said the victim and the suspect were known to each other.
They added there is no risk to public safety.
“IHIT detectives worked steadfastly to secure and compile the evidence for charge approval and today’s outcome would not have been possible without their tireless efforts,” Cpl. Frank Jang of IHIT. “IHIT recognizes that this is a very difficult time for Nicole’s family as they are grieving her death and we hope that we were able to provide them with some answers.”
Anyone with any further information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at [email protected].
Should you wish to remain anonymous, please contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
