There were tears as a long-awaited inquest opened Monday into Lisa Dudley’s death nearly 10 years ago, a loss her family says could have been prevented.
A wounded Dudley lay on the floor of her Mission home for four days before she was found, leading to allegations that RCMP failed to investigate properly following 911 calls.
WATCH: Emotional first day in long-awaited inquest into Lisa Dudley’s death
Dudley, 37, and her boyfriend Guthrie McKay, 33, were shot inside their home in September 2008.
McKay died at the scene and Dudley died later in hospital.
Get daily National news
The pair was killed in a dispute over a marijuana grow-op in their home.
At the time of the incident, two Mounties responded to reports of shots fired in separate vehicles. Neither of them got out of their vehicles to check on the house or speak to neighbours.
Neighbour Erwin Adam, who phoned 911 the night of the shooting, was first on the witness stand.
Tape of the call, where Erwin reported hearing six gunshots while standing on his neighbour’s front porch, was played in Coroner’s Court.
“I hope the shots were not directed at humans,” Erwin said during the call to police.
Under cross-examination, Adam broke down several times on the stand as he said he regrets not following up with the RCMP when they failed to follow up with him.
Dudley’s parents sat in the front row, dabbing their eyes with tissues.
Four men were eventually convicted, three on charges of first-degree murder and one on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
A case against the RCMP was thrown out in February after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled it had been filed too late.
WATCH: Sentence in double murder not enough for families of the victims
~ With files from Estefania Duran and Emily Lazatin
Comments