Victim of knife attack on Airbnb in British Columbia sues alleged attacker and company

One of the two women allegedly stabbed to death by the owner of a Vancouver Airbnb has filed a civil lawsuit against the defendant while his criminal case is still pending in court.

Arvin Pasha, 34, is charged with aggravated assault on two women on May 27, 2022.

Police said at the time that the incident occurred in a residential building near the corner of Third Avenue and Arbutus.

The names of the women are subject to a publication ban. While the plaintiff is named in the civil suit, Glacier Media respects the criminal ban on publishing the women’s names.

One of the women claims in a May 24 civil complaint filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia that she and her sister were “brutally attacked with a knife by Pascha.”

The lawsuit stated that Pasha was the Airbnb host.

Pasha, Airbnb Canada Insurance Services and Obion Holdings are named as defendants in the case.

The indictment says he broke into the suite and was awakened by the noise. The two fled into the hallway, but Pasha followed them with a large kitchen knife in his hand, court documents say.

“Pasha attacked the plaintiff with the knife and stabbed her several times,” the lawsuit states.

Meanwhile, the sister called the police and screamed for help.

“The plaintiff’s sister then left the house through a door into a stairwell to escape from Pasha,” the lawsuit states. “Pasha followed the plaintiff’s sister and attacked her with the knife in the stairwell.”

Both women suffered “multiple stab wounds.”

The claim says the attack ended when other residents intervened and shouted at Pasha to stop.

“Pasha remained at the scene and paced the apartment until police arrived and arrested him,” the claim states.

The complaint states that the plaintiff suffered stab wounds to the neck, head, right hand and face, as well as nerve damage to the right hand and the right side of the face.

She was said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive thoughts, nightmares, sleep disorders, headaches, jaw pain, anxiety and depression.

In the lawsuit, she is demanding multiple compensations.

None of the allegations were proven in court.

Pasha was unavailable for comment and Obion appears to have gone out of business.

Airbnb spokesman Matt McNama said the company could not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit states that Pasha’s last known address was the Vancouver suite, but the court’s conditions for his release required him to reside in Richmond.

Proceedings before the Regional Court

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Tanis Visintin previously said Pasha was arrested the day of the incident.

A Vancouver Provincial Court judge released Pasha on non-financial conditions that he live with his mother in New Westminster, observe a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, refrain from consuming intoxicating beverages, not possess any weapons and comply with the orders of a bail bondsman.

The details of the bail hearing are subject to a publication ban. Such bans are intended to prevent a potential jury from being influenced by prior knowledge of a case.

A trial in provincial court has been scheduled for December 2023 and is scheduled to take place over eight days in September of this year.