Three months after Kimberly Proctor’s badly burned body was found by the edge of a creek, two Langford teens have been charged with the 18-year-old’s murder.
The males, ages 16 and 18, have been charged with first-degree murder, sexual assault, forcible confinement and indignity to human remains.
In a news conference Saturday morning, a visibly upset Cpl. Darren Lagan, spokesman for Island district RCMP, said the murder is the worst he’s seen in a decade on the force.
“Investigators have used the words ‘horrendous,’ ‘disturbing,’ ” Lagan said.
The RCMP remain tight-lipped on any details that might identify the two. They were both under the age of 18 at the time of the murder and their identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
However, Lagan did say that Proctor was familiar with her killers.
“This was not a random act. Kimberly, for whatever reason... was the intended victim.”
Proctor was last seen at a bus stop the morning of March 18. Her badly burned body was found the next day on a rock ledge next to Millstream Creek, beneath a bridge on the Galloping Goose Trail. It took police three days to identify her remains.
Both the investigation and media coverage of the murder ranged well beyond B.C., even reaching television news south of the border because of the role social networking sites played in revealing personal information about Proctor and fueling speculation about her murder.
Comments Proctor made on her profile on vampirefreaks.com — a website dedicated to the goth subculture that has been connected with the Dawson College shooting in Montreal in 2006 — fueled speculation that Proctor’s death was related to bullying.
Lagan, though, said while Proctor had been bullied in the past, there was no indication that it was an important factor in her death. He also warned against singling out any one aspect of the teen’s life.
“This could have been anyone’s daughter,” he said. “Her family deserves Kimberly to be seen as who she was and vampirefreaks.com is not a true representation of who she was.”
West Shore RCMP inspector Mark Fisher added that there was no way the family could have avoided the tragedy.
“Kim walked into this unknowingly and she didn’t deserve this.”
Friends and family have described Proctor as a typical teen who raised dozens of animals and was sewing her prom dress with her grandmother.
While Proctor’s family is asking for privacy, her parents released a videotaped statement Saturday morning.
Clutching his wife’s hand, Fred Proctor’s choked back tears as he tried to explain what the tragedy meant.
“Our home is quiet now,” he said. “This has left a huge void in our lives. We’ll never know what she could have become or would have been or what future we would have had with her.”
Discovery of the teen’s body kicked off a massive investigation. A core of 40 RCMP investigators and additional officers from other forces logged 20,000 hours trying to determine who was responsible.
While some investigators will continue to work on the case, Lagan said police expect no further arrests.
“Our investigators are confident they have arrested the individuals responsible for Kimberly’s homicide,” Lagan said.
That will come as some comfort for Proctor’s mother, Lucia, who remained silent through most of the videotaped statement, but managed just one thought.
“All we can hope for now is for justice to be done for Kimberly.”
The accused have been remanded into custody and are expected to appear in Victoria Youth Court Monday morning.
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On Saturday evening, RCMP announced the charges that had been laid against both suspects:
•1) Murder in the First Degree (Section 231, Criminal Code of Canada). Murder is considered first degree murder, when it is planned and deliberate
•2) Forcible Confinement (Section 279(2) Criminal Code of Canada)
•3) Sexual Assault (Section 271 Criminal Code of Canada)
•4) Indignity to Human Remains (Section 182(b) Criminal Code of Canada)
"Both accused have now been remanded into custody, pending their first court appearances, scheduled for 9:30 am, Monday morning, June 21st, 2010, in Victoria Youth Court," the RCMP release stated.
From: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Langford+teens+arrested+murder+Kimberly+Proctor/3177235/story.html#ixzz0rMNK5Zzj
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