Sex offender pleads guilty to 2014 murder of Surrey teen Serena Vermeersch

A convicted sex offender has pleaded guilty to the murder of a Surrey teen in 2014.

Raymond Caissie, 43, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a New Westminster courtroom Thursday for killing 17-year-old Serena Vermeersch.

Vermeersch's body was found near railroad tracks in Surrey's East Newton neighbourhood on Sept. 16, 2014.

She was last seen alive the previous evening, boarding a bus at the corner of 128 Street and 64 Avenue.

Days after discovering her body, police said the attack appeared random and advised the public to be vigilant.

Caissie was charged with murder one week after Vermeersch was last seen.

Previously convicted for violent sex assault

Caissie​ was released from prison in 2013 after serving 22 years for a violent sexual assault.

He was convicted for kidnapping and violently and repeatedly raping an Abbotsford, B.C., museum attendant in 1991.

Parole board documents show Caissie was considered a high risk to reoffend and was resistant to treatment while in prison.

Surrey RCMP issued a warning at the time of his release, saying he "has maintained a varied pattern of offending, having offended both violently and sexually, in both an opportunistic and impulsive manner."

The charges against him led to widespread, heated discussion from the community level all the way up to the federal cabinet about reintegrating dangerous offenders back into society.

Caissie will next be in court on Sept. 21 for a sentencing hearing.