Alerted by advocacy agency, B.C.’s police watchdog to look into Merritt woman’s murder

B.C.’s police watchdog is looking into whether RCMP action or inaction contributed to the death of a Merritt woman suspected of being murdered by her husband.

Pamela Jarvis, 45, was found with significant injuries in a Merritt home on December 16. She was taken to the hospital, but efforts to save her life were unsuccessful. Her husband, 49-year-old Christopher Jarvis, has been arrested and is facing a second-degree murder charge.

In a news release issued Friday (Dec. 26), the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) says the woman’s death followed an investigation by Merritt RCMP.

The IIO says it subsequently received information from a community agency that prompted it to step in.

“Information provided by an advocacy agency raised questions regarding a December 2025 police investigation undertaken into alleged intimate partner violence that took place before a woman’s death,” states the IIO in its release. “The RCMP has provided information that the investigation occurred over a period of time before the death, and they report that the last contact occurred several days before her murder.”

The IIO investigates cases of death or serious harm when police action or inaction may have played a factor.

An online fundraiser has raised more than $76,000 for her six children.