MISSION (NEWS 1130) – The family of a woman who was the victim of a contract killing and left paralyzed in her home for four days before dying is asking for your help to set a precedent in Canadian law.
Lisa Dudley’s family says Mounties failed to protect her Charter Rights by not checking her home when a neighbour called about hearing gunshots, however, Crown Counsel says a person’s Charter Rights die when they do.
Her stepfather Mark Surakka says they’ve started a fundraiser to cover legal costs. “There is no law governing what happened now. That’s why our lawyers are arguing and taking it to Supreme Court in Ottawa and hopefully we can get there and set precedent.”
He feels this is in the public’s interest. “It’s for Canadian citizens — this isn’t just for our family anymore.”
This case goes back to 2008 in Mission when Dudley was shot twice while sitting in the kitchen of her Mission home. Reportedly, officers who were called out to the scene only drove by, but never actually went to check on her. Her partner, Guthrie McKay, had also been hit and lay dead on the floor near her.
Four days later Dudley was found and rushed to the hospital where she died following a cardiac arrest at the age of 37.
Investigators had said the shooting was over a dispute involving a marijuana grow-op. The first RCMP officer who responded to the call never got out of his police cruiser and later reported he didn’t see anything unusual. In a subsequent police review, that Mountie was found guilty of disgraceful conduct and deducted one day’s pay.