4 charged in fatal kidnapping to appear in North Vancouver court

Four men charged in connection with an alleged "targeted" homicide in North Vancouver earlier this week are expected to appear in court today, but none are charged directly with the victim's death.

Charged with indignity to a body are: Tian Zhang, 23, Casey Hiscoe, 21, Dyllan Green, 20 and Jacob Gorelik, 18. Zhang and Hiscoe also face charges of kidnapping.

The four were arrested after police swarmed a Lynn Valley neighbourhood early in the morning on Sept. 29 as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged kidnapping.

But the investigation turned into a homicide when a body was found, police later revealed.

Three vehicles — a black BMW SUV, a white Bentley and a Chevrolet Malibu — were removed from the alleged crime scene on flatbed trucks. A tarp covered the Bentley.

Police at the scene said none of the homes in the area were connected with the killing, and told neighbours it was not a random homicide.

Complex investigation

A spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said dozens of officers in RCMP detachments and city police departments across Metro Vancouver have been working on the complex case.

"It's a really complex investigation. We have so many different areas to cover off that at this point we're being very protective of the investigation," Sgt. Stephanie Ashton, of IHIT said.

Few details have been released to the public, including the identity of the victim..

"At this point there has been a great deal of speculation regarding the circumstances of this investigation. In an effort to protect the integrity of this investigation, there is limited information available. We want to reassure the public, and particularly the residents living near Wellington [Drive], that this was a targeted incident."

The four accused are expected to appear in a North Vancouver courtroom Oct. 2 at 1:30 PT.