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Man accused in downtown Chilliwack murder facing more charges

Kirkland Russell charged with killing Doug Presseau; co-accused Victoria Purcell out on bail
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One of the two co-accused in the public murder of a man near Five Corners this summer may face further charges.

Kirkland Joseph Russell is charged with the second-degree murder of Doug Presseau after an incident on July 7 that saw Presseau stabbed to death in or near the old Empress parking lot.

READ MORE: Two charged with murder in stabbing death of Doug Presseau in downtown Chilliwack

Also stabbed and killed was Steven Drage, yet no one has been arrested or charged in his death.

Co-accused along with the 34-year-old Russell is 29-year-old Victoria Sherri Purcell.

Both Russell and Purcell were held in custody for three months until Purcell was released on bail in early October on a $25,000 surety.

In provincial court in Chilliwack on Nov. 7, Russell appeared via video link while Purcell showed up in person.

In previous appearances, Purcell often reacted with tears during video appearances, and always appeared demure in person. Dressed in grey hoodie and jeans, Purcell attended Wednesday alongside her lawyer Gurpreet Gill saying nothing and leaving as quickly as soon as she was able to.

During the appearance in front of Judge Wendy Young, Crown counsel Eleasha Sabourin explained why her office did not have disclosure ready yet for defence.

“Crown is considering further charges,” Sabourin said.

READ MORE: Chilliwack man charged with murder once labelled a high risk sex offender

Russell’s prominent Vancouver lawyer, Terry La Liberté, also raised some question about the court-ordered no-contact list issued for the pair.

La Liberté attended the hearing Wednesday via telephone, and questioned one name on the list: Russell’s seven-year-old son.

“There is no reason,” La Liberté said of the inclusion of the boy on the no-contact list.

Judge Young agreed to remove the boy from the list of approximately a dozen people Russell cannot contact, although Sabourin, unfamiliar with the file and the reason for the inclusion of the boy, said Crown may bring the issue back again at the two accused murderers’ next appearance on Nov. 28.

When the file eventually does come to a preliminary hearing and eventually trial, the local Crown office will not prosecute the case, rather it will likely be in the hand of a Crown from the Surrey office.


@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com

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A parking lot in downtown Chilliwack remained behind police tape following a stabbing July 7 that left two people dead and another injured. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress file)