‘Pam didn’t deserve this’: Friends rally around 6 children left behind after B.C. woman’s killing

A 45-year-old mother of six was killed in Merritt earlier this week, and her husband is now charged with her murder.

Grieving friends of Pamela Jarvis are rallying around the Merritt, B.C., resident’s six children following her death this week.

The 45-year-old was found seriously injured at home Tuesday, and died later that day in hospital.

Her husband, Christopher Jarvis, was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday.

Dana Egan, a Merritt city councillor, was friends with the deceased, and described her as a loving, caring, thoughtful person.

She also said Jarvis feared for her life after calling the police on her husband on Dec. 10.

Egan recalled her friend saying, “He’s going to kill me, Dana,” during one of their last conversations together.

“She kind of bizarrely laughing about it,” Egan said. “She says, ‘Dana, the reason the police were called up there last Wednesday was because he had broken down the doors in the house so badly that the frames actually came off their hinges.’”

Police returned her husband to the house five hours after the incident, Egan said.

She said Jarvis had confided in her that she was looking to separate from her husband, but that the process was moving slowly.

“She had contacted a lawyer who was only in town once a week, and he still hadn’t gotten the work done for her separation—so the police pretty much had their hands tied with how much help they could do,” Egan said.

After the incident last Wednesday, Egan said she encouraged Jarvis to seek help again.

“And I told her that she could come and stay at my house just so that she could get caught up on her sleep,” she added. “She didn’t do that.”

The children Jarvis left behind range between 14 and 27 years old. Egan said the home is in their father’s name, and she’s hoping a lawyer will step up to do some pro-bono work on behalf of the kids.

“The whole family is in shock,” Egan said. “And those kids need a place to live.”

In the meantime, the community has rallied together to offer support in memory of a woman who gave so much herself.

Egan said since Jarvis died, she’s heard from many Merritt residents about how she had helped them out when they needed it, including with child care.

“I never realize how many people that Pam’s life touched,” Egan said. “How well that that Pam was loved.”

More than $5,000 has already been raised in a donation jar at a local pub, and a GoFundMe has collected more than $50,000, Egan said.