A 60-year-old Maple Ridge woman is facing a second-degree murder charge in relation to the death of a Burnaby woman last year.
Trudy Gail Hunter was arrested on Friday and charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing 61-year-old Burnaby resident Christina Docherty last December. Hunter was in provincial court in Vancouver on Monday morning.
The murder charges stem from a call Burnaby RCMP received on Dec. 2, 2013. Officers discovered Docherty’s body in an apartment in the 4900 block of Hastings Street shortly after 4:30 p.m. The department’s major crime unit determined the death was suspicious and called in the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, which took over the case.
“From the beginning stages of the investigation we wanted to speak with witnesses, with persons of interest, with suspects who may shed some light on what the motive was for this homicide,” Sgt. Jennifer Pound, spokesperson for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said at a press conference on Monday.
According to Pound, Docherty was known to police prior to her murder. The accused, however, was not known to police and does not have a criminal record. Pound couldn’t say whether police had ever had any contact with Hunter in the past.
“Unless there’s a criminal record on file, we can’t reveal any history on what that individual was up to. I can tell you that it was an exhaustive investigation,” she added.Hunter was arrested at her residence in Maple Ridge on Friday without incident.
Pound said that while the specifics of what motivated the crime won’t be released at this time, it appears that prior to the murder Hunter and Docherty were good friends.
“It was linked to the drug trade,” she says. “The victim was involved in lower level trafficking, and that may or may not have had a play in what took place inside the residence.”
Cause of death is not being released at this time, and Pound said the circumstances surrounding Docherty’s murder are still being confirmed.
“We are still looking to confirm a lot of details, but I can tell you that the evidence we have does support charges of second-degree murder,” she said.
Both the suspect and the victim in this case were women in their 60s, something Pound said was unique when considering the investigations the homicide team has handled.
“I think it shows that it doesn’t matter how old you are, there is a risk that comes from being associated with, and engaging in, this lifestyle,” she said. “It speaks to the danger and the risks that come from engaging in this criminal lifestyle.”
Hunter is scheduled to appear again in court on Friday. Pound said it’s likely the second appearance will be to set a date for the trial in B.C. Supreme Court.
