Surrey RCMP nab man in possible murder-attempted-suicide
jeff hodson/Metro Vancouver
An RCMP forensic investigator examines the front yard of house on 91A Avenue in Surrey yesterday after a woman was killed in what is believed to be a murder-attempted-suicide. Her husband, who was found injured and taken to hospital, was arrested after his release.
A 51-year-old man was arrested yesterday morning after his wife was killed in a suspected murder-attempted-suicide in Surrey.
Subalini Ratnanesan, 50, a Surrey real estate agent, was found dead late Tuesday evening. Her husband, Sivapragasam Ratnanesan, 51, was found injured and was taken to hospital. He was arrested upon his release from hospital yesterday morning. At press time he had not been formally charged.
RCMP would not confirm the incident was an attempted murder-suicide.
“I don’t know what evidence is in the home, but it is sufficient enough, however, that I would suspect something untoward has taken place,” said Sgt. Roger Morrow, a spokesman for Surrey RCMP. “As a result, the husband has been arrested.”
The pair have two daughters, 13 and 19. The latter attends university in Edmonton. Morrow would not say if the younger girl was home at the time of the incident.
Officers arrived at the house — located in a quiet residential neighbourhood on 91A Avenue at 154th Street — at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Inside, they came upon a “dramatic scene,” Morrow said.
The cause of the woman’s death and the nature of her husband’s injuries were not released.
Yesterday morning, the street in front of the cream and brick house with olive trim was cordoned off by yellow police tape. Forensic investigators, dressed in white and grey coveralls, combed the house and yard.
“I’m devastated for the girls and for Subi herself,” said Nadene Imhof, who has lived across the street from the Ratnanesan’s for the past seven years.
She said Subalini was “good natured and outgoing.”
A family friend said the couple had emigrated from Sri Lanka and had lived in the house for at least 10 years.
