Calm urged in slain teen's town after 'killer's' letter

Community leaders in Armstrong, B.C., are encouraging people to keep their normal routines after the town was rocked by news that a person claiming to have killed a young woman wrote a letter to police threatening more violence.

The letter writer claimed to have slain 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest on Halloween night as she was walking to meet friends.

The purported killer also is threatening more attacks against women.

"We're encouraging people to be vigilant by not letting this person dictate the lives of people in this area," said high school principal Rob Macaulay. "There are a lot of great things in this community that we want to continue and we don't want this person to dictate what we do."

Macaulay and acting mayor Ronald Sullivan attended an RCMP briefing about the letter for community leaders.

"Hopefully, we will get back to a normal life or try," Sullivan said. "It's hard to get back to normal right now. You know, hopefully we can catch this individual soon and get our community back to normal."

RCMP are still hoping to confirm whether the letter actually came from the person responsible for the slaying or is a hoax.

Police are asking the letter writer to contact them again in an attempt to start a dialogue, both to establish how much the writer really knows and to prevent more attacks in the southern Interior town.

Such letters not unusual

Simon Fraser University criminologist Rob Gordon said he’s not surprised someone has written such a letter.

"They're not unusual, particularly with a high-profile case like this one," Gordon told CBC News.

Gordon said threatening letters are often fake and written by an unstable person who wants some fame themselves and enjoys spreading fear.

He said police are doing the right thing by going public, even if the letter is fake, because it serves as a reminder.

"Bottom line is, they've got somebody in that community or vicinity who's responsible for a killing and they haven't yet identified who that person may be."