Kimberly Proctor, the 18-year-old B.C. teen found dead on the Galloping Goose Trail.From Facebook
Two teenagers charged in the brutal murder of high-school student Kimberly Proctor made a brief appearance in Victoria youth court Monday as media, supporters and members of the community packed the courtroom hoping to catch a glimpse of the suspects.
The youths, aged 16 and 18, were arrested Friday evening, three months after Ms. Proctor's badly burned body was discovered beneath a suburban Victoria footbridge.
The suspects can't be named under Canada's Youth Justice Act because they were both under 18 when Ms. Proctor was killed.
They were charged Saturday with first-degree murder, forcible confinement, sexual assault and indignity to human remains in relation to Ms. Proctor's death. In his brief submission to the court, Crown prosecutor Peter Juk applied to have the suspects sentenced as adults if they are found guilty.
The 16-year-old appeared first, wearing a green-grey suit, matching shirt and a black tie. About 5-foot-10 and slightly built, with wire-rimmed glasses, he stared sombre-faced during the proceedings.
The 18-year-old, slightly taller and heavyset, wore a plain black T-shirt and faded, baggy jeans, turning his eyes briefly toward the gallery as he sat in the glass-enclosed prisoner's dock.
Both defence lawyers agreed to have the proceedings put over until July 6 and requested their clients be allowed to make that appearance by video conferencing.
Neil Mackenzie, spokesman for the province's criminal justice branch, said although the trial will take place in youth court, the Youth Criminal Justice Act allows the imposition of an adult sentence "in some circumstances."
"When young persons are charged with murder it's not unusual for the Crown to seek an adult sentence," he said.
The maximum prison sentence for murder is 10 years for young offenders; life for adults, with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Ms. Proctor's charred remains were discovered March 19 on a rocky ledge beneath a bridge on the Galloping Goose regional trail that crosses Millstream Creek at the Langford-Colwood border.
Police have refused to say if they believe Ms. Proctor was killed beneath the bridge or attacked elsewhere and then transported to the site.
The documents allege that the assault and murder of Ms. Proctor took place on March 18, the same day she was reported missing.
Ms. Proctor was last seen disembarking from a bus at the Langford transit exchange near CanWest mall around 10 a.m. on March 18. Her parents called police when she failed to show up for a babysitting job that evening.
Special to The Globe and Mail