Last week’s suspicious house fire in Nanaimo that left one man dead has been deemed a homicide, according to Nanaimo RCMP.
The fire was reported around 5 p.m. on August 11th at a home on Athletic Street.
City of Nanaimo fire crews were first on scene after black smoke was reported billowing from windows in the home.
The fire was contained to the residence and within forty minutes, the blaze was extinguished.
Fire crews then entered the home and located a deceased adult male.
See more: Discovery of man’s body in Nanaimo house fire deemed suspicious
At the time of the incident, the discovery of the body was deemed suspicious and was turned over to the Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Section for investigation.
Now, RCMP are treating the incident as a homicide and the identity of the deceased person has been released to the public.
The victim, 40-year-old Trevor Stross, of no fixed address, was known to travel between Nanaimo and Victoria and had recently arrived in Nanaimo.
Anyone who may have had some recent interactions with Trevor Stross is asked to contact the Nanaimo RCMP at (250) 754-2345.
