POLICE have identified the homicide victim found in a burned-out vehicle in Surrey on Wednesday as 19-year-old Bhavkiran (Kiran) Dhesi of Surrey. She was a student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
On August 2, just after 12:20 a.m., Surrey RCMP responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the 18700-block of 24th Avenue. When police arrived, the Surrey Fire Department had extinguished the flames. Inside the vehicle was a deceased female body that had sustained injuries consistent with homicide. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) was contacted and took the lead in the case.
The female victim was identified as Dhesi who was last seen leaving the family home on Tuesday, August 1 at 9 p.m. From the evidence recovered so far Dhesi’s homicide was not random.
IHIT is working closely with the Surrey RCMP to determine motive, and Dhesi’s whereabouts prior to her murder. Dhesi was not known to police, and the investigation to date indicates that her death was not related to gang activity.
“Police are working tirelessly to advance this investigation and want to speak with any friends and acquaintances that knew Miss Dhesi,” Cpl. Meghan Foster of IHIT said. “Miss Dhesi was a college student, and had recently recovered from a kidney transplant. This death is a crushing blow to Miss Dhesi’s family, and they are suffering terribly.”
Some other facts that emerged from Thursday’s press briefing:
- The vehicle in which her body was found belonged to her family.
- She was going to meet some friends.
- Currently, police are speaking with persons of interest. Persons of interest are basically anyone that police believe has information that can further their investigation.
- Police couldn’t speak of the nature of the association in which the persons of interest are.
- Police could not speak about where they believe the initial crime scene was.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448), or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact CrimeStoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).