No bail for accused in sex worker’s slaying
A man accused of killing sex trade worker Laura Furlan almost four years ago will remain behind bars until his trial.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Hall on Monday denied bail to Christopher Dunlop, 38, who faces charges of first-degree murder and causing an indignity to a human body.
Evidence heard at the bail hearing, which began in June, cannot be reported because of a court-ordered publication ban.
Dunlop was initially charged with manslaughter, but the charge was elevated last November after Crown prosecutor Shane Parker and police investigators reviewed the case file and received evidence from the victim’s autopsy.
“We got a chance to look at the whole of the evidence in the case and new evidence from the medical examiner and determined there was a realistic prospect of conviction,” Parker said at that time.
Furlan went missing on Aug. 24, 2009. Her body was found under some brush in Fish Creek Park two weeks later, on Sept. 7, 2009. Dunlop was charged exactly three years later in what had become a cold case.
Police have alleged Dunlop met Furlan a few hours before she went missing. It’s believed she was involved in the sex trade and had suffered from addictions. There has never been a release by police on the cause of the woman’s death.
Defence lawyer Kim Ross had sought Dunlop’s release, while Parker and co-Crown prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee argued for his detention.
Dunlop will be back in court on Aug. 1 for a pre-preliminary meeting, likely to set a date for a preliminary hearing.