A photo of Kimberly Proctor, an 18-year-old from Langford whose burned body was found Friday at Millstream Creek beneath the Galloping Goose Trail along the Langford-Colwood border, sits at a memorial near the location she was discovered.Geoff Howe For The Globe and Mail
Two Victoria-area teens pleaded guilty Wednesday to the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Kimberly Proctor, whose burned and mutilated body was found beneath a footbridge on the Galloping Goose trail in Langford last spring.
The two youths, who cannot be named under Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains. One of the boys is now 18 but was 17 when the murder took place.
In a shocking four-page statement of fact submitted to the court Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Peter Juk outlined how the two youths carefully planned the killing before carrying it out and even discussed their intentions via text message the night before Ms. Proctor's disappearance on March 18.
On the evening of March 17, the 16-year-old sent Ms. Proctor text messages in which the two agreed to meet the next morning.
Shortly afterward, Ms. Proctor and the 16-year-old youth had a "lengthy telephone conversation," during which he and the older youth exchanged e-mails discussing their plan to "seduce her, bind her, sexually assault her, murder her, then burn and dispose of her body," the statement said.
The two youths discussed specific details such as "when and where to meet, how to get money and buy a specific brand of fuel with which to burn the body" and evaluated "various possible sites at which to dispose of her body," court heard.
The next morning, the two teen boys met Ms. Proctor at a bus exchange in Langford. The older youth "went off to a nearby store to buy fuel" while the younger boy took Ms. Proctor to his house on Happy Valley Road.
After the older youth arrived at the home, the two teenagers sexually assaulted Ms. Proctor, beating her and kicking her and eventually choking her to death, Mr. Juk said.
They stored Ms. Proctor's body in a deep freeze in the home's garage overnight, then stuffed her in the duffel bag the next morning and, carrying the fuel with them, took a bus to the site where her body was found, he said.
In e-mails he sent to a friend a week after the killing, the 16-year-old described the event in chilling detail, saying he had "dreamed about killing someone ever since he was young" and explaining that he "picked Kimberly Proctor because she was an 'easy target,'" the statement said.
Text messaging the same mutual friend, the 17-year-old said he "felt bad that he was going to get caught but did not feel bad for Kimberly Proctor's family or friends," Mr. Juk said.
Mr. Justice Robert Johnston informed the two youths that based on the statement of fact, the court is "satisfied … that the plea of guilty should be accepted."
Additional charges of sexual assault and forcible confinement were dropped as part of Wednesday's guilty plea.
The Crown has asked to have the two youths sentenced as adults, but the final determination on that application won't be made until a pre-sentencing report has been completed in the new year.
A tentative date of March 28 has been set for the sentencing hearing. For youth who are sentenced as adults, the maximum sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Several of Ms. Proctor's immediate family members were in court Wednesday but left without speaking to the media.
Outside the courthouse, RCMP Corporal Darren Lagan said that while investigators have known the details of Kimberly's death for months, her parents were not told until Tuesday evening.
"Obviously the courts heard some facts today that I think you'll agree are disturbing," he told reporters. "This was a very difficult investigation for our team, but that pales in comparison to what the family feels."