Kamloops supportive housing building to change names after homicide revelation

A homeless man who died in Kamloops nearly 20 years ago is now blamed for a cold case homicide in the U.S.

Washington state police said Henry Leland killed a woman in 1986, but they only recently identified him through DNA evidence.

According to the Wenatchee Police Department, homicide investigators pursued numerous leads over the last 40 years, but it was a private corporation’s genealogical testing that helped narrow down the search to Leland.

The company, Ortham, identified a “possible family lineage” and investigators were able to trace it, eventually confirming Leland’s identity with the help of his sister, who submitted her own DNA to investigators. She was his only known living relative and was in Washington state, according to the Wenatchee police news release.

Police said Leland killed Carol Traicoff in May 1986 and there’s no evidence to suggest there’s any other suspect, with the investigation now closed.

Leland’s 2007 death in Kamloops was also a flashpoint for the need for homeless services in Kamloops. His body was discovered on a park bench after he died of hypothermia on a winter night.

A BC Housing-funded site, managed by Ask Wellness, was later named after him.

“The death of Henry Leland struck a chord in the community. I think the fact many folks, not even street-involved, knew of him, and he was seen to a kind of kind, quiet soul,” Ask Wellness CEO Bob Hughes said at the time it opened.

“I think people really felt a calling that we needed to do something in recognition of this being a man who died on the streets of Kamloops.”

He said the Henry Leland House building was the first “housing first” project in Kamloops to address homelessness. Now, the non-profit is looking for a new name.

On May 20, they’ll take the name down, and the non-profit will consult with Tk’emlups te Secwepemc and Skeetchestn Indian Band as they seek a new name.

“I think for us right now, the primary focus is to commiserate with (Traicoff’s) family and recognize this was a shock for all of us,” he said. “Our first step is to honour the family and the recognition, without a doubt, is that this was a woman who was killed.”