A 21-year-old man appeared in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Provincial Court on a charge of second-degree murder May 20 with another appearance for the same charge involving another death set for May 21 in Surrey.
Nahom Gizaw is charged with two counts related to the deaths of two men in the cities in 2022 and 2023.
Gizaw remains in custody pending a return to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Provincial Court June 10.
The charges came after two years of police investigations into the homicides.
The joint investigation of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Department (VPD) and Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) led to the arrest of a suspect for the murders.
Maanav Kinkar, 18, was found dead at Hazelnut Meadows Park near 140 Street and 68 Avenue in Surrey on May 26, 2022. IHIT initiated an investigation and began the search for a suspect.
Ten months later, on March 3, 2023, 22-year-old Caleb Morin, was stabbed and killed at a residence near Boundary Road and East 45th Avenue in Vancouver.
Although the two murder victims had no connection, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»police worked collaboratively with IHIT to gather evidence that eventually linked a single suspect to both cases.
The suspect was arrested near East 29th Avenue and Rupert Street on May 8 by VPD homicide detectives.
The province’s online court database does not indicate criminal records for the deceased.
With files from Darren Handschuh, Castanet
