Victim in suspicious death identified

KELOWNA – The woman who died suddenly and suspiciously on Cawston Avenue Saturday morning has been identified by police.

Rita Maria LeHockey, 48, died sometime before police arrived at a house on 800 block of Cawston Avenue Saturday, July 2.

Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says police were called to the home just before 2 a.m. A Kelowna man was detained and the death is considered suspicious.

“The 53-year-old Kelowna man who had been detained for questioning has since been released from police custody,” he says in a media release. “The circumstances surrounding the woman's death remain unclear at this time and police continue to treat her death as suspicious in nature.”

The scene remains closed as police investigate. An autopsy is expected to be completed in the next few days.

“Investigators are awaiting its results to aid in determining an exact cause of Rita’s death,” O’Donaghey says.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Sgt. Julie Rockwell of the Kelowna RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) at 250-470-6201. Remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net or by texting your tip to CRIMES (274637) ktown.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.