B.C. senior admits to killing his neighbours after ‘dispute’

Valerie Smith and John Kavaloff, who were killed in 2023 in Chilliwack, are shown in this submitted photo.

The lengthy trial of an 86-year-old B.C. man accused of killing two of his neighbours was expected to start Monday but was pre-empted by his sudden guilty pleas.

Robert Freeman has admitted to the second-degree murder of John Kavaloff and manslaughter in the death of Valerie Smith. Both were shot in the chest at the trailer park in Chilliwack where they lived n 2023.

The court heard that Freeman had been neighbours with the victims for more than a decade when there was a dispute and Kavaloff was shot, followed by Smith.

Freeman’s bail has been revoked as he awaits sentencing next week.