Royal City Record January 8 2014

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N E W

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014

W E S T M I N S T E R

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Charges filed in city murders

In mourning:

Sheri Hickman, mother of Jill Lyons, left, and Herb Auerbach, father of Karen Nabors, spoke to the media Monday after police announced a 32-yearold man from Surrey had been charged with first-degree murder in their August 2013 deaths.

BY CAYLEY DOBIE REPORTER cdobie@royalcityrecord.com

FamilymembersoftwoNewWestminster women killed in August listened quietly as police announced first-degree murder charges against a Surrey man at a press conference on Jan. 6. Sheri Hickman, mother of Jill Lyons, and Herb Auerbach, father of Karen Nabors, addressed the media following the announcement that a 32-year-old Surrey man is facing two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing Lyons and Nabors in August. Both Hickman and Auerbach expressed gratitude to police for their hard work and dedication to the investigation into the deaths of Lyons and Nabors – women they said were deeply loved and will be greatly missed. “The first time I saw her, I looked into her big brown eyes and I fell in love with her, and from then on we shared a close relationship,” Hickman said. Lyons was adopted when she was only four months old. She grew up on Salt Spring Island, riding horses, skating on frozen ponds and enjoying the outdoors, Hickman said. “She was an adorable baby and a sweet

Jason Lang/THE RECORD

little girl. She loved rainbows and puppies and princesses,” she said. Lyons was 45 years old when she was found dead in her 11th Street apartment on Aug. 12. Nearly two weeks later the body of Nabors, 48, was found in another unit of the 11th Street apartment building. Both women had a history of drug use and were employed as online escorts, but their chosen occupation doesn’t mean they deserved to die, Auerbach told reporters at the conference on Monday. “Whether hers was more or less risky than others, either in the fishery or forestry business, is not relevant. Murder is a crime

that is unacceptable in any job,” he said. Lyons and Nabors were friends, sisters, and daughters. They both leave behind large families, including two children each. “She (Nabors) could have been anyone’s kid,” Auerbach said. “She had a very strong sense of justice, and she stood up for anyone who needed her help. She didn’t brag about that because she didn’t think it was anything special, it was just the right thing to do … It’s hard for us to believe this boisterous and fiery person has been silenced.” Hickman told reporters she was surprised at how quickly investigators, which included officers from the Integrated

Homicide Investigation Team, New Westminster Police Department and Surrey RCMP, were able to announce charges in her daughter’s murder. At the time of Lyons’ and Nabors’ deaths, the public criticized the police for how they were handling the case, but it was a necessary part of the investigation, said New Westminster Chief Const. Dave Jones. “When these types of investigations occur, the police often find themselves in a very tough position. You have to constantly balance the integrity of the investigation with the public’s right to know what is ◗Murders Page 4

Billboard a success – it’s sparking debate BY CAYLEY DOBIE REPORTER cdobie@royalcityrecord.com

Not everyone has a problem with a controversial ad that made its debut in New Westminster earlier this week. As The Record previously reported, an ad promoting atheism and the Centre for Inquiry Canada, an educational charity

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aimed at promoting evidencebased thinking, is now on a billboard on McBride Boulevard between Sixth and Eighth avenues. The ad features a young man holding a camera with the words “Dave 27:1 … Lead with your heart. Not with your Bible.” “… These ads are specifically slanted in a way as to attack Christians and believers in the

Bible on the grounds that somehow belief in the Bible is some kind of assault to freedom of thought or self-determination, which is essentially bigotry,” Mark Jaskela, a member of a volunteer ministry in New Westminster, told The Record in a previous interview. But Centre for Inquiry Canada spokesperson Justin Trottier says

complaints like Jaskela’s are all part of the motivation behind these types of ads. “I have no issues at all with people’s strong opinions about the advertisements. Obviously the advertisements themselves are the result of our organization having itself, very strong opinions about religion, about humanism, about alternative sys-

tems to religion and wanting to have a conversation about it,” he said. “We welcome the very, sometimes loud and messy, but very necessary debate and conversation that ensues.” So far, the ads seem to be doing exactly what Trottier said was their intention. A number ◗Billboard Page 4

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