Women of diverse ages and backgrounds meet death and danger in Vancouver area parks

The past couple years have borne witness to a lack of safety for women in Vancouver-area parks, awareness of which was raised to frightful new heights in late September 2010 with the murder of 15-year-old Laura Szendrei. She was a Grade 10 student at Burnsview Secondary School in Delta, B.C., who died in hospital early Sunday morning, September 26, 2010, succumbing to injuries from a severe blow to the head.

The lethal attack took place only a few hours earlier, on Saturday, September 25 in a park next to the school she attended in North Delta. The attack which became fatal occurred in broad daylight at 1:30 p.m. while she was walking through the woods on the way to meet friends. Szendrei's friends were near the park and heard two loud cries for help and ran in that direction, arriving seconds after the attack to find her laying on the ground.

Delta Police Force told media they are looking for a 'person-of-interest', and said, "As a result of initial investigative efforts Delta Police are looking to speak to a person who may have information that may further our investigation." The person of interest was described as a young male seen leaving the park at about the same time as the attack, walking swiftly while preoccupied with a cell-phone. "Is he a suspect? No," said a police spokesperson, "We're not certain if there's information this individual may have that could further our investigation, but that's something we want to appeal to the public."

Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was an avid jogger, a mother of two young daughters, who entered Pacific Spirit Regional Park (adjacent the UBC campus) where she was attacked and murdered April 3, 2009, and the body was discovered by a hiker the same afternoon. Ladner-Beaudry was co-chair of the BC Games Society and was well-known as an avid promoter of sport and fitness for women in the province, and she was the sister of former Vancouver councilor and mayoral candidate Peter Ladner.

Her husband Michel Beaudry said in the days after the murder, "She was a loving wife, a dedicated mother, a consummate professional and a source of joy, love, and inspiration to everyone she met,." The murder of Ladner-Beaudry remains unsolved while she was posthumously inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame this year.

This unsolved murder was preceded by another earlier in the spring of 2009, when a 43-year-old woman named Tammi-Lynn Louise Cordone was found in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park. Her body was found lying near a tent that was set-up close to Juniper Point. Cordone had apparently been living as an itinerant in Lighthouse Park, a 74-hectare park off Marine Drive where camping was not permitted. Initially investigators treated Cordone's death as 'suspicious', then the investigation turned to homicide.

A relative of Cordone from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where Cordone was from, said the family received few details about the attack, and told the Vancouver media, "All we know about what happened was she was a good kid." This investigation is being handled by both West Vancouver and Vancouver police departments because the West Vancouver Police Department does not have its own homicide unit. This murder also remains unsolved.

About a year ago, Oct. 19, 2009 9:20 AM Vancouver police issued a public warning after a local woman was violently sexually assaulted while walking through a west side park not far from the Pacific Spirit Regional Park. Reports said she was attacked in Hastings Mill Park, located next to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club on Point Grey Road.

"He repeatedly punched her, multiple times in the head and face, then dragged her towards the centre of the park," said Cst. Jana McGuinness. The woman was able to fend off her attacker after a violent struggle during which the assailant began a sexual assault on the victim. The attacker left the scene, and police reported the victim sustained "significant" facial injuries and bruises.

"Obviously this is a violent and traumatic event," said Cst. McGuinness. "There will be an emotional toll -- no doubt for many weeks, and potentially even longer." Police said the suspect was described as 5-5 to 5-8 tall, medium-skinned with a medium build, and, "speaking in a distinctly British accent." He wore a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, had a handkerchief over his face. Police discussed a possible connection to the murder of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry in April the same year because the park on Point Grey Road lies in relatively proximity to Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Cst. McGuinness said the public must exercise caution in these relatively benign circumstances, and she listed a few safety suggestions, including: walk with a partner, carry a cell phone, stick to well-lit routes, and let someone know where you are. "These are just minor steps, but they can be really helpful in dissuading a serious attack," she said.

Prince George puts its best face forward to no avail

 Front steps of the Prince George Courthouse, a source of stability in an otherwise rancorous environment

Prince George, B.C., has been busy in the crime news these past few weeks. During the last days of September two premiers (Gordon Campbell, B.C.; Ed Stelmach, Alberta) and their cabinets (10 from Alberta and 11 from B.C.) came to the city of 70,000-plus in the central interior of B.C.. That's one. The Highway of Tears with dozens of pins on the map indicating missing and murdered women, is several other stories.

A number of joint measures on crime came high on the agenda as the governments made a series of announcements. It was a positive show from the two governments and well-received according to the daily press. Then, scant days later came a double homicide in the first week of October (the 2nd and 3rd murders of the year for the city).

Victims Garett John McComb, 23, and Brittany Joan Giese, 19, were residents of Prince George. The city of Prince George had been witnessing some spectacular outbursts of violence from gangs during the months before police were called to the scene of these last two homicides.

Reports did not specify whether the two murder victims were living in the rental house on Webber Crescent, which is part of a quiet suburban area in the far west end of the city.

Police said they were called to investigate 'something amiss' at the high-priced rental property, and that turned out to be double homicide. The house was familiar to police, they said, from a raid days earlier resulting in arrests and confiscation of a cache of firearms.

Police initially refrained from discussing motive then said the murders were probably targeted and gang related.

RCMP spokesman Const. Gary Godwin told media, "Both of these individuals are known to police."

And it so happens a vehicle in the driveway of the murder scene, 2347 Webber Crescent, was a shot up Lincoln Navigator which had been riddled with bullets in a gunfight earlier this summer in the city's rough and tumble downtown.

"It appears to be a targeted double homicide. Just the scene of the crime indicates it is a murder," Godwin said. "We're familiar with this residence." The murders and shootings in the city this year have been gang-related, said Godwin.

The murders came as a bizarre aftermath to the premiers' visit which endeavored to highlight crime on the bilateral relationship between the governments, calling especially for safer communities. (It was the sixth such annual meeting between the B.C. and Alberta provincial cabinets.)

The joint cabinet meeting focused on creating safer communities. They announced the two governments will be working on a joint missing persons' database and intend to share best practices on aiding victims of crime.

"We want to make it as difficult as possible for criminals to operate in our provinces," Stelmach said. The provinces agreed to co-operate on community safety initiatives and efforts to stem in particular the rising tide of gang crime.

The provinces also intend to get tough on repeat offenders, and will launch a pilot project to expedite warrants of serious offenders that call for return to the issuing jurisdiction.

"Our two provinces are partnering to crack down on crime and focus on making communities in B.C. and Alberta safe. By working in co-operation, we can be more effective at tracking offenders and supporting victims of crime," said British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

The two premiers expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. They said they want to work with the federal government and other provinces in a few specific areas, including the range of sentencing for all criminal offences including youth sentencing; the principles of sentencing; review of bail provisions; review of procedures for preliminary hearings; and quick action to fill legislative gaps created by the courts that hinder police investigations and prosecutions.

Premier Stelmach stressed the importance of Alberta and B.C. joining forces to make the justice system work in order for citizens to feel safe. "Crime knows no borders. Our joint efforts today will focus on making it as difficult and uncomfortable as possible for criminals to operate in our provinces while at the same time boosting our efforts to aid victims of crime."

After the premiers and their cabinets had departed, the city turned to task at hand. Reports from the city this year contained explicit details of gang warfare as Crime Watch Canada reported last month.

Police were dealing with drive-by shootings, kidnappings for drug debt, and "a peculiar localized propensity for snipping fingers off crack users who fall into debt (fingers are lost for as little as $200 worth of crack cocaine)."

The gangs participating in Prince George included the Independent Posse (First Nations), the Independent Soldiers (Indo-Canadians), the Renegades (a splinter group of the Hell's Angels), and others.

Thus it was that in the days preceding the double homicide in the city police were implementing a community-oriented strategy to intervene on gang developments. In fact, the RCMP organized an information session in the first week of October aimed at educating the Sikh community about criminal gangs.