The family of a woman whose remains were found at Robert Pickton's Port Coquitlam property in 2003 want the serial killer charged in her death.
Stephanie Lane's family held a press conference Wednesday in Vancouver to express concern over how her remains were handled by the RCMP and BC Coroners Service, and to ask that Pickton be formally charged with her murder.
Lane went missing from the Downtown Eastside in January 1997. Her DNA was found on the Pickton farm six years later.
Lane's remains were placed in RCMP storage until 2010 and then transferred to storage facilities of the BC Coroners Service. The family was given her remains last September.
In scouring the Pickton property, investigators found evidence of 33 missing women. He was later charged in the deaths of just 26 women and, in 2007, was tried on six of those charges. The remaining 20 charges were stayed and Pickton received six life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years.
A statement released by the BC Coroners Service emphasized Lane's remains were part of the original police investigation and do not represent new evidence.
They also expressed regret over the delay in repatriating her remains back to her family and extended its "sincere apologies for any further stress caused them by the delay."
A Crown spokesperson speaking on CKNW Thursday morning said no further charges will be pursued against Pickton because he is already serving the maximum sentence.
@spayneTC
