Three people found dead inside a home in Surrey in an apparent murder-suicide, police say

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Friends and neighbors expressed their disbelief Tuesday as they gathered outside a Surrey home where the bodies of three people were found the day before.

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Police believe the three are part of the same family, but released no names and few details about the deaths as homicide officers continued to investigate.

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Neighbors and friends identified the occupants of the Fraser Heights home as Leo Li, his wife, Tiffany, and their adult son, Daniel.
“I am shocked that they loved each other and loved the life they led,” said Jean Zou, who lived across the street from the house and has known the family since 2002.

“Leo liked to play golf and rollerblade, and Tiffany loved yoga,” Zou said. “They were active. They did exercises in the morning and then gave tutoring in the afternoon.”

The couple taught students in their two-story house. Tiffany taught French, Leo taught math and physics and Daniel, who graduated from Victoria University last year, taught English, according to Zou.

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The family’s home was surrounded by yellow police tape on Tuesday. RCMP, forensic and forensic vehicles surrounded the home as police in protective gear came and went. The bodies were moved on stretchers to waiting vans later that day.

In the afternoon, mourners added to the growing makeshift memorial by adding bouquets of flowers with notes reading “rest in peace” and “peace in heaven.”

Police discovered the bodies of three adults at the home in the 15600 block of 112th Avenue around noon Monday, said Sgt. Timothy Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, in a statement Tuesday.

“It is believed that (they) are part of the same family,” he said.

“Preliminary evidence suggests that there is no prominent suspect, although we do not rule out any investigative theory. Investigators will continue to be in the area speaking with neighbors throughout the day.”

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Janey Li, whose son was tutored in French by Tiffany, told Postmedia that she had messaged Tiffany around noon on Saturday and found it unusual that Tiffany had not responded. She tried again on Sunday and again on Monday morning with no response, she said.

CBC asked Pierotti if it was a murder-suicide.

“It seems so,” Pierotti said. “We can say that we believe there are no leading suspects, nothing like that, and no leading murder weapons.”

The home is owned by Li Li and Xiao Yan Zhen, according to BC property documents, and was purchased for $537,000 in 2009. It was assessed at $1.6 million based on last July’s appraisal.

Leo and Tiffany Li, who were in their 50s, were part of a WeChat chat group, said Connie Kang, who said Tiffany had recently posted photos of her snow-covered backyard on Dec. 20.

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Leo had posted during the December World Cup soccer tournament how much he had enjoyed the games. Both had wished their friends and fans a Merry Christmas, both Zou and Kang said.

“They are a very nice family, they are very kind,” said friend Lucy Jiang, who said Tiffany’s family came from the same small town near Shanghai as her and that Tiffany’s parents still live there. “It is very sad.”

Jiang said that Tiffany loved to garden, and Zou pointed out that Tiffany had planted flowers, including sunflowers, to attract birds to her backyard.

Jiang said that Daniel, who may be around 23 or 24 years old, was a “good guy” who was planning to get a master’s degree in English.

Neighbors Piara Singh Beesla and Surjit Kaur Beesla said they did not know the family but were shocked to learn of their neighbours’ deaths.

“This is one of the good parts of Surrey,” Piara said. “How can you feel safe?”

“It’s really sad,” Surjit said.

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