Investigators are canvassing the area around a Surrey, B.C. ice rink where a mother was fatally beaten in order to generate tips and finally get a break in their investigation.
Sgt. Adam MacIntosh of the Integrated Homicide Team said Thursday that “a number of investigators” are in the area around Newtown Arena, looking for information that will help catch the killer of 53-year-old Julie Paskall, who died of her injuries on Tuesday.
“What we’re trying to do is we’re going to get out to the public and we’re trying to generate tips and speak to anyone who may have been in that areas, may have seen anything and may have information,” MacIntosh told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.
Officers were to set up a command post where Paskall was savagely attacked Sunday night as she waited for her referee son to finish officiating a minor hockey game.
MacIntosh described Paskall as “an innocent person going about her daily life,” and was the victim of an unprovoked attack.
While investigators have not confirmed a motive for the killing, MacIntosh said they “believe it was robbery.”
Authorities said they have reviewed surveillance tapes and they believe the attack to be similar to one in the same area earlier in December.
Macintosh said investigators will treat the two cases as related until they prove otherwise.
As investigators continue their hunt for the killer, residents say the tragedy has left them fearful.
“It’s getting scarier and scarier living around here.… I usually walk my dog at night, but now I won’t be doing that,” Pauline Grant said.
Grant, who visited a growing memorial for Paskall, told CTV British Columbia that she was second-guessing whether she should have chased down a thief who stole her purse at work last week.
“It makes you think twice when something like this happens,” Grant said.
Douglas Alfred, a spokesperson for the Newton Community Association, agreed.
“There's just not enough police to patrol this area efficiently, effectively. We need cops on the street, on their feet or on their bikes and so the criminals know that they can't brazenly walk up to someone in probably the most public area in the town centre and not be afraid of getting caught.”
Surrey Coun. Barinder Rasode says the community has been shaken to the core and called on authorities to make changes.
“We need more uniforms on the street, working with both business and residents to make sure we’re improving public safety,” she said.
Rasode is calling for a review of security measures at recreation centres in the city, with special attention to cameras, lighting, and trees and shrubs in the area.
Two dozen homicides have been recorded in Surrey in 2013, a record high that provoked the mayor to launch a task force last month.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Michele Brunoro
