The Vancouver man accused of murdering eight individuals by driving a high-end car right into a crowded avenue celebration on Saturday night time seems to have been grappling for months with the affect of his brother’s alleged homicide final yr.
A path of social media posts and on-line campaigns trace on the struggles Kai-Ji Adam Lo claimed to have endured since his brother died in what Vancouver police stated at the moment was the town’s first murder of 2024.
Lo has been charged with killing eight of the 11 individuals aged 5 to 65 who died after a black Audi tore into the gang because the Lapu-Lapu Day competition drew to an in depth shortly after 8 p.m. Dozens extra had been injured.
Vancouver police have stated the suspect, who has no different file of legal prices within the provincial courtroom database, was the topic of a number of psychological well being interactions with officers within the months main as much as the tragedy.
‘Our actuality has abruptly shifted’
Talking to the CBC on Monday, Lo’s lawyer stated he wasn’t ready to verify any of the small print about his consumer’s alleged psychological well being issues.
However he stated he understood Lo’s brother had been killed final yr.
In line with police studies on the time, 31-year-old Alexander Lo’s physique was discovered at house in East Vancouver early on Jan. 28, 2024. Dwight William Kematch is charged with second-degree homicide within the case, and a B.C. Supreme Court docket trial is at the moment set to start in October 2026.
An organizer named “Advert Lo” arrange a GoFundMe marketing campaign within the weeks after Alexander Lo’s demise titled, “In loving reminiscence of Alexander Lo, funeral prices,” elevating virtually $10,000 to defray the price of his burial.
“It pains me deeply to place these phrases down, however my brother has been taken from us in a mindless act of violence, one thing we by no means noticed coming,” the put up reads.
“Our actuality has abruptly shifted. Regardless of our disagreements, the tough fact that he is now not with us hits me with an amazing power.”
‘Immense grief and stress’
In line with property data obtained by CBC, Kai-Ji Adam Lo and his mom share an East Vancouver home a brief distance away from the situation the place he would later be arrested by police.
The pair are additionally listed as debtors in relation to a 2018 Audi Q7 Progressiv.
Final August,” Advert Lo” arrange a second GoFundMe marketing campaign with an image of a lady in a hospital mattress geared toward elevating funds to assist his mom after he claimed to have discovered her “unconscious in her mattress.”
He cited the stress she had been beneath following his elder brother’s demise and monetary woes, corroborated by a provincial courtroom lawsuit filed in opposition to a contractor Lo and his mom allegedly employed to construct a laneway home for $213,000.
“The immense grief and stress she’s beneath have taken a major toll,” the put up within the fundraising marketing campaign reads.
“I feared I had misplaced the one member of the family I’ve left … I can’t stand to see her undergo anymore, and there is nothing I can do to assist her.”
Each on-line fundraising campaigns related to “Advert Lo” have been taken offline up to now 24 hours.
A quick courtroom look
Questions swirled Monday in regards to the psychological well being historical past police declare introduced Lo onto their radar previous to his arrest.
A VPD spokesperson confirmed that Lo got here into contact with police in a neighbouring jurisdiction the day earlier than the assault, however stated the encounter wasn’t legal in nature and did not require a psychological well being intervention.
In the meantime, Lo stays in Vancouver police custody pending a subsequent courtroom look on Might 26.
His solely look so far got here late on Sunday by a digital hyperlink that’s utilized by the justice system to take care of individuals charged outdoors the courtroom’s regular working hours.
Lo sat in entrance of a digicam in what seemed to be a white jail cell with a blue door behind him, sporting gray jail sweats, along with his fingers held in entrance of him and his head tilted barely down.
The CBC was the one media group dialled into the proceedings, that are coated by a publication ban.
Past the Crown and Lo’s lawyer, the listening to was additionally attended by two provincial authorities communications officers, considered one of whom stated he labored in “points administration” serving to the province reply to “points that may come earlier than the general public.”
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