Fifty-two-year-old Jack Douglas Woodruff made his second court appearance Monday via video in connection with the 2008 double murder of Lisa Dudley and Guthrie McKay in Mission.
He was remanded into custody until his next appearance on May 26.
Woodruff, a Surrey resident, was charged with two counts of first degree murder last week after a 31-month investigation by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT).
Dudley's family was in the Abbotsford courtroom last Friday and got a glimpse of the man accused of killing their daughter.
"We didn't know the person at all," said Dudley's stepfather, Mark Surakka, explaining the family went through a range of emotions — pleased for the arrest and charges, but also shocked and saddened because the ordeal resurrected the past.
Surakka told The Record he would still like to see a coroner's inquest, but for now, he and his family are preparing for the court process, which they know can take a few years to conclude.
IHIT spokesman Dale Carr said last week he could reveal few details about the case, including how Woodruff knew the couple, except to say that investigators believe the murder was targeted. A motive has not been revealed.
Dudley, 37, and her boyfriend McKay, 33, were found by a neighbour on Sept. 22, 2008 at a rural home in the 31000 block of Greenwood Drive four days after a 911 call was received that six shots had been fired in the area.
McKay was pronounced dead on the scene. Dudley was in severe medical distress and died en route to hospital.
Cpl. Mike White was given a written reprimand and docked one day's pay in March after an RCMP disciplinary hearing determined that he failed to properly investigate the shots-fired call. He left the scene after being there for 10 minutes and did not follow up the next day, the board of adjudication concluded.
Woodruff's criminal history dates back to 1997 and mainly involves stolen property, fraud and stolen credit cards. He is also connected to missing Surrey woman Karen Batke, who was last seen in 2007.
— with Abbotsford News files