Police are investigating the recent deaths of two escorts found dead in an apartment complex in New Westminster.
Jill Lyons, 45, was found dead by New Westminster Police in her apartment at 211 11th St. just before 10 p.m. on Aug. 12. The autopsy on her body was unclear, leaving the cause of death unknown. Investigators are still waiting for a toxicology report, which could help determine the cause of death, according to a media release.
Karen Nabors, 48, was found dead almost exactly two weeks after Lyons, on Aug. 25. New Westminster police were called to the same apartment complex on 11th Street, according to the release.
Following a warning issued to escorts on Monday, investigators with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released a second statement on Tuesday concerning the suspicious deaths.
Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the homicide team said in the statement there have been concerns over the timing of the warning, which wasn't issued until Nabors was found dead on Aug. 25 - almost two weeks after Lyons was found.
According to police, when the New Westminster Police Department first responded to Lyons' death there was a possibility it was a suicide, which is why no warning was issued until Nabors turned up dead.
"As police officers we are morally, ethically and legally responsible to balance the protection of the public and the integrity of the investigation. In cases where suicide is a possibility, there is a particular emphasis on the protection of information in order to be empathetic and understanding to the sensitive issues that surround some of our cases," Pound said in the release.
According to police, at this time foul play hasn't been confirmed in either case, but it hasn't been ruled out, either.
This isn't the first time police have been called to the 11th Street apartment building. In the past 12 months, New Westminster police have received 57 "calls for service" to the building, according to Insp. Phil Eastwood.
But this doesn't necessarily mean officers are responding to calls to the building once a week.
"I cannot tell you that police were physically required to attend in every case since some may have just been nonattendance calls," Eastwood said.
The department's crime prevention unit had reached out to the owner and manager of the building to include the residence in the Crime Free Multi Housing program but was unsuccessful, Eastwood added.
"As a result of that they certainly haven't been able to take advantage of all the things that that brings with it," he said.
The program, which is available to rental properties across B.C., offers training sessions for owners and managers on how to make properties less appealing to criminals and criminal activity. In New Westminster, members of the crime prevention unit send out crime alerts to specific areas when they notice an increase in criminal activity. While this information is available for the public through the police department's website, it is sent directly to building owners and managers in the Crime Free Multi Housing program.
"From the occupant safety point of view, we wish they were part of our Crime Free Multi Housing program. They're not, and our efforts to encourage the owner and managers to become involved in that program have been unsuccessful," he said. Because the women knew each other and were found dead in the same complex, the homicide team will be leading the investigation into the suspicious deaths of both Lyons and Nabors, with the help of the New Westminster police.
"Investigators know both women were engaged in a high risk lifestyle and were working as online escorts," Pound said, in the release. "IHIT's priority is to reach out to all escorts and remind them of the risks involved and to take extra precaution as it is unclear at this point why, or even if, they are in fact being targeted."
Anyone with information on the deceased women is asked to call the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team the tip line at 1-877-551-IHIT or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
