‘Public interest’ prompts B.C. coroner to release details in death of Ben Kilmer
Posted June 18, 2019 10:34 am.
Last Updated June 18, 2019 10:36 am.
DUNCAN (NEWS 1130) – The British Columbia Coroner’s Service has taken the unusual step of confirming suicide in the death of a Victoria-area man who disappeared last year and was not found for five months.
A hiker in the Cowichan Valley found the remains of husband and father Ben Kilmer on Oct. 17, 2018 on a remote road west of Duncan. The location was far outside the original search area that was set up after the 41-year-old went missing in mid-May.
There was an extensive search after Kilmer’s work van was found — still running and with traces of blood inside — in the Duncan area. However, even after the hundreds of hours volunteers spent searching for him, there was no sign of him.
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The coroner’s office has ruled Kilmer died of asphyxiation.
Andy Watson with the B.C. Coroners Service says the details in the public report were carefully considered and the chief coroner determined the public interest in disclosing the information outweighed Kilmer’s personal privacy.
A statement issued by the coroner’s service says “the brief summary in the coroner’s report establishes the facts, addresses speculation and quiets the public imagination.”
Kilmer’s widow has fought the release of the coroner’s findings, arguing it would have a negative impact on her children.
