A man was sentenced to eight years in jail today in connection to a double murder in Mission five years ago.
Bruce Main was charged with two counts of first degree murder in 2011, and pleaded guilty to counts of manslaughter on Friday. He was given eight years in jail for his part in the killing of Lisa Dudley and her boyfriend Guthrie McKay. The two were running a marijuana grow-op in their home. Main helped out Dudley at the grow-op and was the one who led the killers to the home.
Main was given one year credit for time served and will serve seven years in jail.
“Towards the end Lisa knew something wasn’t right, and she knew she was going to die,” said Lisa’s mother, Rosemary Surakka. “She told me several times she was going to die in that house.”
The judge said he was disappointed Main’s sentence was that low, but said he understood Main might lead police to the one person not yet charged in the case – the person who allegedly ordered the hit on Dudley and McKay.
“I guess there was a bad taste in the judge’s mouth,” said Lisa’s father, Mark Surakka. “Perhaps that he had to make a bargain. There was a bargain made so I hope good comes out of this.”
The case dates back almost five years, to September 18, 2008.
On that day, Mission RCMP responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Shaw Street in Mission. Patrols went out but could not find anything.
Then, on September 22, Mission RCMP were called to a home on Greenwood Drive as two bodies had been found inside a home. Lisa Dudley and Guthrie McKay were the victims of gunshot wounds. McKay was pronounced dead at the scene and Dudley died while en route to the hospital.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) became the lead agency in this double homicide and conducted an extensive and highly complex investigation.
On May 13, 2011 Jack Douglas Woodruff was charged with two counts of first degree murder. Ten months after he was charged he plead guilty to both counts and is currently serving a life sentence.
Justin Andrew Mackinnon was also charged with two counts of first degree murder on June 2, 2011 and is currently in custody.
This was not a cut and dry investigation. It required many resources who were committed to long days in order to bring it to where we are today. Two guilty pleas marks a success in the eyes of IHIT investigators and speaks to the abundant amount of evidence that was retrieved and sifted through in the past years,
says Sgt. Jennifer Pound.
– With files from Julia Foy
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