Suspect pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2022 Coquitlam stabbing

The stabbing scene is seen in this file photo from February 2022. (CTV News)

The 24-year-old man charged with second-degree murder in a 2022 Coquitlam stabbing has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, investigators say.

Jeffrey Stevens was 21 years old in February 2022 when police were called to 228 Schoolhouse St. in Coquitlam for a report of a stabbing.

Responding officers encountered the 66-year-old victim, later identified as Terry Miller, suffering from life-threatening stab wounds. He died in hospital 12 days later.

Stevens was arrested in January 2023, 11 months after the homicide, and charged with second-degree murder. A second suspect, then-24-year-old Chalice Slavik, was arrested several days later and charged with manslaughter.

In an update on the case Thursday, the Integrated Homicide Investigation team said Stevens entered his guilty plea on Dec. 10. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12, 2026.

The IHIT update did not mention Slavik and the B.C. Prosecution Service told CTV News the charge against him had been stayed in August 2023.

“The entering of a guilty plea is a significant step in the court process,” said Sgt. Freda Fong, in the IHIT statement.

“As we await sentencing, our thoughts are with Mr. Miller’s family and those who were impacted by this tragic incident.”