Man arrested, charged in death of Vancouver businessman John McIver

Vancouver police say they have arrested a36-year-old Vancouver resident for the murder of businessman John Leslie McIver.

McIver, 78, was discovered dead inside his appliance repair shop,McIver's Appliance Sales and Service, in South Vancouver shortly after 8:30 a.m. PTon June 26.

Early in the investigation, policedetermined the death was suspicious. On June27, McIver's death was deemed a homicide.

Crown has now approved asecond-degree murder chargeagainst 36-year-old Vancouver resident Brian Roger Holt, who remains in police custody until his next court appearance.

At a news conferenceWednesday, Const. Steve Addison confirmed Holt was an employee of McIver's, but it is unclear if he was still employed at the repair shop at the time of McIver's death.

CBC News spoke with McIver's son, Derek, who says he found out about the charge Wednesday morning.

He thanked police for their efforts throughout the investigation and said the family would be taking time to process the information.

Anyone with information about this offence who has not yet spoken with police is asked to call VPD's Homicide Unit at 604-717-2500.