Suspect in Surrey murder case arrested and released

A suspect was arrested for murder weeks after Surrey woman San Li "Sandy" Liao disappeared last spring.

But according to new documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court, members of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released the man in question when they couldn't meet the standard for charge approval.

Relationship with a younger male

The details are contained in affidavits attached to a petition from Liao's family to have the 54-year-old declared as presumed dead. 

The court documents also include a harrowing description of the search by Liao's children in the hours after their mother vanished last May.

"The police investigation has established beyond a reasonable doubt that Liao is dead and that she was likely murdered on the evening of May 26, 2017, and that her body was disposed of at an unknown location in the Lower Mainland," according to an affidavit from IHIT investigator Cpl. Michael Wayne Pacholuk.

"IHIT has gathered a great deal of evidence to support the finding that Liao was murdered."

According to Pacholuk's affidavit, Liao was involved in a relationship with a younger male who she met along with one of his female friends at Guildford Recreation Centre the day before she went missing.

"Liao was very emotional at the time and asked to speak to the female friend in private, telling the female friend to stay away from the younger male who she identified as her 'boyfriend,'" Pacholuk stated.

According to the IHIT document, Liao went to work the next day and drove directly to the younger male's apartment at the end of her shift: She was allegedly seen entering the elevator of the building at 3:29 p.m.

"That was the last time Liao was ever seen," Pacholuk stated.

'Someone else had my mother's phone'

The petition also includes an affidavit from Liao's 28-year-old daughter, Cindy Cheng, who claims she last saw her mother on May 20.

On May 28, two days after Liao was last seen, Cheng claims she received a "worrisome call" from her sister, Amy, who couldn't get in touch with their mother.

Cheng claims they spent the next 45 minutes calling Liao's cell phone.

"At 10:19 p.m., I received a strange text message from my mother's phone saying she had gone hiking with friends and the reception was unstable, so she was not able to pick up the phone. I became suspicious that someone else was using her phone to send me those texts," Cheng wrote.

"The diction used, grammar and tone were very abnormal."

Cheng claims her mother had poor night vision and wouldn't have gone hiking that late.

"I texted the person back and pretended I had gotten into a car accident to show urgency in order to get a response. The person using my mother's phone did not show any concern to my situation and replied and said: 'Oh that too bad!,'" Cheng stated.

"I knew, at this point, that someone else had my mother's phone."

'Leave the investigation to them'

Liao was an avid churchgoer.

Cheng claims that she tracked down a close friend who her mother had previously mentioned: "When I contacted this particular person, from our dialogue, I became quite suspicious about what he may know about my mother/her whereabouts. He kept changing his story about when he had last seen or spoken to her."

According to Cheng's affidavit, the family located Liao's missing vehicle in a parking lot associated with the young man. It was allegedly covered in mud and scratches. The driver's seat has been adjusted and the licence plate was also bent.

"We reported our findings to the police, and they indicated that they had located my mother's friend and were questioning him," Cheng stated. "They also instructed us to leave the investigation to them."

Pacholuk's affidavit states City of Surrey traffic cameras show Liao's vehicle leaving the general area of the apartment building at 2:15 a.m. on May 27, hours after Liao was seen entering the elevator.

"The younger male was arrested for murder by IHIT investigators on June 23, 2017," Pacholuk stated. "This male was subsequently released without charge on June 24, 2017, after IHIT was unable to meet the standard for charge approval.

According to his affidavit, Pacholuk has obtained 30 judicial authorizations during the course of the investigation. The information to obtain those orders is sealed to protect the integrity of the investigation.

None of the claims contained in the affidavits has been tested in court.