Cory Sater, the Coquitlam man charged with killing Charlene Reaveley and Lorraine Cruz and injuring another man in an alleged hit-and-run Feb. 19, was granted bail Thursday in Port Coquitlam provincial court.
He was to be released on a $10,000 bond and stick to the following bail conditions: that he keep the peace, observe a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless with his father, have no contact with the victims' families, not drive and not be in possession of or consume alcohol or drugs. He next appears in court on Wednesday, April 13.
Thursday's hearing was Sater's first public appearance since his arrest, and friends and family of both Reaveley and the accused filled the packed courtroom.
Sater entered the courtroom and sat behind a glass partition, crying and shaking violently as he mouthed "I love you" to his father and nine other friends and family members seated in the court.
There is a ban on publication of the details of the hearing.
Throughout the proceedings, the tall, muscular Sater appeared lethargic, swaying back and forth in his seat, mouth held agape and mumbling intermittently.
Alternating between holding his eyes closed and staring blankly at the floor, Sater avoided the gaze of Brian Reaveley, Charlene's father-in-law, who hardly averted his eyes from Sater during the hour-long proceedings.
On seeing his daughter-in-law's accused killer for the first time, Brian Reaveley told The Tri-City News that he felt only one thing: "Pain. Just pain," he said tearfully, during a break before the judge's bail decision was read. "Pain and anger is all I feel.
"I was surprised that he came out today," he added.
"But there's no closure. This is far from closed. How do you close off the death of a mother with four kids?"
At his lawyer's request, Sater had remained at the North Fraser Pre-trial Centre in Port Coquitlam since his arrest.
His lawyer said he asked for the hearing to be moved up to Thursday; Sater was previously scheduled to next be in court on March 30.
