The drowning deaths of two teenagers during a post-graduation party last spring were a homicide and suicide, RCMP investigators have concluded.Craig Allen Wood, 19, and Kendall Gabriella Catherine Moore, 17, died during the morning hours of May 18 when the vehicle they were occupying went into Kwitzil Lake, more commonly known as Gravel Pit Lake, just off Highway 16 about 42 kilometres west of Prince George, according to police.
In the days following the incident, Wood's family issued a statement saying they had reason to believe the two were sleeping inside the vehicle, a 1994 two-door GMC Jimmy, when it began a slow roll toward the lake.
But on Wednesday, RCMP said investigators have determined Wood's actions led to his and Moore's deaths and concluded it was a homicide and suicide. There was not enough evidence to support a conclusion that it was a murder, Prince George RCMP Cpl. Craig Douglass said when contacted after RCMP issued a statement on the matter early Wednesday afternoon.
“This is a tragic result to an entirely preventable situation,” Sgt. Todd Wilson of the Prince George RCMP’s serious crime section said in the statement. “We believe substance abuse was a direct factor in these deaths.”
RCMP also said the investigation was extensive and involved many aspects including forensic evidence analysis, a vehicle inspection, multiple interviews and autopsies which included toxicology testing.
"The investigation was hampered due to the high amounts of rumours and speculation on both traditional and social media that began just after the vehicle entered Kwitzil Lake and continued for days," RCMP said in the statement. "Police were challenged to filter through this information in order to locate and validate the facts. Those facts have brought this investigation to conclusion."
