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By Jules Xavier - Comox Valley Record
Published: October 02, 2008 6:00 PM
Cory Headen of Sooke has been identified as the 19-year-old who died as a result of being beaten at his Courtenay home in the early hours of Sept. 25.
He had been living in Courtenay for less than a year.
Clifford Frederick Martin, 18, had originally been charged with break-and-enter and aggravated assault. But with Headen’s death Monday night in a Vancouver hospital, Martin has been charged with second-degree murder.
A graduate of Georges P. Vanier Secondary School this spring, 18-year-old Janelle Peyachew has also been charged with break-and-enter as well as public mischief. According to police, the mischief charge stems from an allegation that she steered police officers in the wrong direction during their investigation.
According to Const. Tammy Douglas of the Comox Valley RCMP, Headen died as a result of being severely beaten with a baseball bat at his home on Piercy Avenue. He was struck several times on the head and body. The bat has since been recovered.
Mounties, including forensic experts, spent several hours at the home last Thursday collecting evidence. This included taking fingerprints off the front door. Besides the home, the crime scene extended around the corner to Bill Moore Park and along the railway track.
Peyachew was released with a number of bail requirements, while Martin remains in custody by consent. His next court appearance in Courtenay is Oct. 16.
The most recent homicide investigated by Mounties in the Comox Valley occurred in Merville in 2003. In that case, a man was convicted of manslaughter following the death of another man after he was struck by a club.
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