A Merritt man has been charged with second-degree murder following the death of a 45-year-old woman earlier this week, RCMP say.Police were called to a disturbance at a Merritt residence on Tuesday after BC Emergency Health Services requested assistance. RCMP officers arrived alongside paramedics and found Pamela Jarvis suffering from severe injuries. She was transported to hospital, where she later died.The suspect fled the home before police arrived but was later located and arrested. Investigators say the incident was isolated and that those involved knew one another.The BC RCMP Southeast District Major Crime Unit took over the investigation into Jarvis’s death. On Wedbnesday, Christopher Bernard Jarvis, 49, was formally charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Pamela Jarvis.Jarvis has appeared before a judge and remains in custody. He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 6..The charges have rocked the town, said Jarvis' friends."She was kind. She was steady. She had a quiet strength about her. She loved her animals fiercely. She loved her kids without question. She was SO proud of them — you couldn't have a conversation with her, without the children coming up. They were her world, said Friend Shayna Archer in a Facebook tribute."And she carried herself with a warmth that made people feel safe, seen, and welcome.""You can see the impact of her life all over this town right now. In her coworkers standing together outside their workplace, holding each other up. In the people who are stunned because her presence was a part of their everyday lives."