Police officers at odds on scene of murder-suicide, inquest hears

A coroner's inquest into a 2007 murder-suicide in Oak Bay, B.C., heard testimony Thursday that raised doubts about whether all of the victims were dead when officers arrived on the scene.

The inquest is looking into the deaths of Sunny Park, her elderly parents, her six-year-old son and her estranged husband, Peter Lee.

Victoria police Sgt. Andy Lacon told the inquest Thursday that a bulletin on his squad car computer reported two people "with weak vitals."

Officers from the Victoria Police Department, Oak Bay Police Department and Saanich Police all responded to a 911 call from an upscale suburban home at 310 King George Terrace on Sept. 4, 2007. The call was made at 3:06 a.m.

Oak Bay police Const. Art Goodwin, who was the first officer to arrive on the scene, testified Thursday that the home was quiet when he got there. Moments later his colleague Const. Larry Worok arrived in his cruiser.

Goodwin said he and Worok walked up to the home and heard nothing. Goodwin said he knocked on the door, but got no answer.

After radioing a dispatcher to try to contact the person who made the 911 call, he was told the address was correct and the phone was going to voice mail.

At the rear of the home, Goodwin said he found a small broken basement window covered with duct tape.

Shining his flashlight into a kitchen window, Goodwin told the inquest he saw a female lying on the floor, her clothing covered in blood.

Two Saanich police officers then arrived on the scene and entered the home about 30 minutes after the emergency call was made. Sgt. Chris Horsley, who was one of the officers, testified that two bodies were found lying in a pool of blood in a hallway.

"It was clear these people had suffered grievous injuries. There was a tremendous amount of blood, and they had edged weapons marks on them," Horsley testified Thursday.

"We thought, 'Do we have a hostage-taking? Do we have someone hiding?' We were in the dark … and then [there was] the smell of gas," Horsley said.

He and the other officer left the home after smelling some kind of fuel they believed might be coming from a barricaded room with a blood-covered door, the inquest heard.

Goodwin said he, Horsley and the other Saanich officer decided the bodies found were likely deceased and they didn't want to risk sending in paramedics if there was a possibility of the home exploding.

"I was expecting the house to blow up in front of me," Goodwin testified.

Lacon told the inquest he argued in favour of re-entering the home because of the report that two people were showing weak vital signs.

This led to a radio message from Horsley, saying, " We're having political issues. Lacon is running roughshod. He wants to get the people out," the inquest heard.

Lacon testified he abandoned his plan when he learned fellow officers from Victoria's emergency response team were just a few blocks away.

That team entered the home and inside the barricaded room the bodies of Lee, Park and their son Christopher were found — about four-and-a-half hours after Goodwin had arrived at the home.

Thursday's inquest heard other testimony that there appeared to be confusion about the chain of command at the scene of the killings.

Goodwin said he and the other officers worked as a team.

But Lacon testified that one police force, with all its resources under one roof, would have responded differently. Among other things, he said, the emergency response team would have been called in earlier.

The inquest, which began Monday, resumes Friday. A pathologist who examined the five dead bodies is expected to testify.