B.C. coroner orders public inquest into multiple murder-suicide

A public inquest will be held into the murder-suicide deaths of five people in Oak Bay, B.C., the province'schief coronerannounced Friday.

Terry Smith said he hoped the inquest by the Coroners Service, an independent, fact-finding agency, would help answer all the questions stemming from the deaths.

"The key questions will be to ensure we look at all the factors that led up to and surround this tragedy," he said.

Peter Kyun Joon Lee, his 36-year-old wife, six-year-old son and in-laws were found dead inside the family's Oak Bay home on Vancouver Island Tuesday morning. A Victoria regional coroner said on Wednesday all five died in a murder-suicide.

A date for the coroner's inquest has not yet been set. During the inquest, a five-person jury will publicly hear evidencesurrounding the circumstances of the deaths.

In the four days since the multiple murder-suicide, questions have surfacedconcerning the judicial system's handling of Lee, the police response timeand theunreliable radio systemused by Victoria area police forces.

At 3:06 a.m. Tuesday, a woman inside the house at 310 King George Terrace called 911. Oak Bay police were dispatched to the house where Lee, Park, their son Christian, and Park's parents, Moon Kyu Park, 66, and Kum Lea Chun, 59, were found dead.

Vancouver Island's regional coroner, Rose Stanton, said all the family members died of stab wounds and a double-edged, 10-centimetre blade was believed to be the weapon.

Police won't say how long they took to respond to the call.

Court transcripts from last week show a bail supervisor had been concerned that Lee was violating his court-ordered bail conditions. He had been ordered to stay away from his family while facing an accusation that he deliberately tried to kill his wife, Sunny.

Attorney General Wally Oppal told CBC News Thursday thatCrown prosecutors may not have had all the facts when they agreed with the release ofthe Victoria restaurateur on bail two weeks after he was charged with assaulting his wife, Yong Sun Park, on July 31.

Police alleged Lee deliberately drove his Land Rover into a pole, leaving Park with a broken arm and contusions.

Court documents show that during Lee's bail hearing, Crown prosecutors agreed with the defence that Lee should be released with several conditions. A justice of the peace approved the deal, but that was without hearing from the Crown that police felt Lee was a threat and should remain in custody.

Internal review launched

The criminal justice branch of B.C.'s Ministry of AttorneyGeneralhas launched an internal review of the case.

Oppal said it's too early to say what if any mistakes were made.

"Because of the timeframe involved, we don't get all the facts," he said. "It may well have been the case that the Crown went in there and agreed to the consent to release without all of the facts being known, but those things are still being investigated and I don't want to speculate."