Five months after the horrific beating death of a Surrey hockey mom that shocked and galvanized a community, police announced Saturday that a 27-year-old man has been charged with the second degree murder of Julie Paskall last year in Surrey.
Yosef Jomo Gopaul is scheduled to appear in a Surrey court on Monday.
Paskall, 53, was attacked in the parking lot of a Newton community arena as she arrived to pick up her son after a hockey game in December.
At a news conference in Surrey on Saturday, Supt. Kevin Hackett, head of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said Gopaul was arrested in Surrey on Friday afternoon. He said Gopaul had been identified as a suspect about one month after the attack.
Police then informed the victim鈥檚 husband Al Paskall, who said at the conference that he was elated there had finally been an arrest in connection with his wife鈥檚 death.
鈥淲hile this is very important, it does not bring her back, she鈥檚 deeply missed and this has been an extremely difficult time for our family,鈥� said Paskall. 鈥淲e have suffered an unthinkable loss.鈥�
Hackett said IHIT will not be releasing any information about a motive for the homicide, saying he didn鈥檛 want to compromise the court process. He said that the investigation was the result of a coordinated effort with the Surrey RCMP and more than a thousand hours going through surveillance video, adding that Paskall鈥檚 family was a huge support during the process.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to take this opportunity, once again to offer our condolences to the family on this tragic loss,鈥� said Hackett. 鈥淚 acknowledge that Al and his children provided tremendous faith in our team and offered support to our investigators.鈥�
Hackett confirmed that Gopaul had a criminal record for assault in Brampton, Ont., and said he had moved to B.C. just eight weeks before Paskall was killed.
Surrey's top Mountie, Chief Supt. Bill Fordy, said the homicide affected the whole community, but it also touched him personally, being a hockey dad.
鈥淭his crime touched me on a number of different levels. As a citizen of Surrey, as a police chief, as a hockey player, hockey dad and a former coach,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want you to know there was never any doubt in my mind that I would one day stand shoulder to shoulder with Supt. Hackett and announce that we had arrived at a place where evidence had been secured in Julie鈥檚 death.鈥�
Outside the RCMP headquarters, Martin Ross, the victim鈥檚 brother, said it was an emotional day for the family.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough day. We鈥檙e pleased that somebody was caught,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 offer as much closure as you might think.鈥�
Ross said he had not been informed by the police about a motive in the attack, and said he will wait to see what is presented at court. He said Paskall鈥檚 children are coping, but they are still grappling with life without their mother.
鈥淭hey are a strong family, and we鈥檙e working through it.鈥�
On Friday, hours before Paksall鈥檚 daughter Rhiannon was scheduled to step on stage at a benefit concert at 91原创鈥檚 Wise Hall to read a poem in honour of her late mother, police made an announcement of the arrest.
Paskall was badly beaten 鈥� possibly with a rock 鈥� and left unconscious in the parking lot of the Newton Arena on Dec. 29 in what may have been an attempted robbery, according to statements by IHIT spokesman Sgt. Adam MacIntosh after her death. Paskall had arrived to pick up her son, who was refereeing a game at the arena. She was steps from the arena doors and less than two blocks from the Newton RCMP detachment when she was attacked.
Paskall never regained consciousness and died two days later after her family agreed to take her off life support.
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts also attended the news conference on Saturday to offer her condolences and support to the family. She said there was around the clock surveillance used to apprehend the suspect, and now that he has been arrested those police resources will be redeployed. She said increased foot patrols in the neighbourhood will continue.
She said it was 鈥渇rustrating鈥� that someone from outside the province has been arrested in connection, but not surprising.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got the second largest border crossing in the country with the United States, where we are geographically located there is a transient population. so that is one of the challenges we have,鈥� she said.
She said she had no doubt in her mind that investigators would make an arrest.
Paskall was the 25th and last person murdered last year in Surrey 鈥� a record for the city. The attack had Newton residents fearing for their safety and calling for help from officials.
Shortly after the murder, Surrey鈥檚 crime task force called for more police officers, foot patrols and surveillance cameras in the city. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts had created the task force, which has 49 dedicated officers, as last year鈥檚 homicides began to approach the record number.
Watts said the city increased foot patrols in the area in the days after the murder, and planned to improve lighting and sightlines in the area. She and others also lashed out at the provincial and federal governments for allowing a proliferation of unregulated recovery houses for people with mental illness or addictions, which can be set up anywhere in the city.
Over the next two years, the city has budgeted for 24 new police officers.
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