39 suspects in sex assault case, DNA led to accused
Saanich police received tips identifying 39 possible suspects in the sexual assault and robbery of two University of Victoria international students in 2016.
None of the suspects was David Robert Hope, who is now on trial in B.C. Supreme Court, charged with sexual assaulting and unlawfully confining the women, robbery and break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence.
Hope was identified as a suspect by police after his DNA was identified in a swab taken from the exterior door handle of the students’ apartment in Saanich, according to admissions of fact read into the court record Thursday.
A court-ordered blood sample was taken from Hope after he was arrested and a DNA profile was developed. His profile was a match for the DNA found on the door handle of the students’ apartment by Const. Paul Luhowy.
Hope was living with his mother at her home in Duncan on the day of the attack and the time prior to it, according to the admissions of fact. Hope used his mother’s car and had a cellphone in her name for his exclusive use.
Surveillance video from the apartment building shows the students arriving home at 7:20 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2016. Their assailant walks to the rear of the building at the same time.
The admissions also reveal that Hope’s mother sent him a text at 7:20 p.m. He did not reply.
The text reads: “I don’t know if you will get this message or not because your voice mail is full when I tried calling you. [Your sister] said you were home for awhile but you left. I need my car to last Dave so you can’t be driving it all over.”
A video taken at 7:38 p.m. shows the assailant and the women leaving the building.
At 7:54 p.m., a barista at the Starbucks coffee shop at 3605 Shelbourne St. called 911 on behalf of one of the students, who was “frantic,” the admissions say.
On the day after the attack, Saanich police put out a statement with a description of the assailant and an account of what happened. They also released videos and images taken at the apartment building and asked the public for help identifying the man.
The women were shown 10 photographs of potential suspects. They were not able to identify a suspect.
On March 7, they were shown 10 photographs of people matching the description of their assailant. A photograph of Hope was included. Neither student identified him, say the admissions.
Hope bought a one-way plane ticket from Nanaimo to Saskatoon on Jan. 29. He travelled the next day, flying from Nanaimo to Saskatoon via Calgary, arriving at 7:10 p.m.
He was arrested in Saskatoon by Saanich police on April 5. Police have no evidence that Hope returned to Vancouver Island before then.
This week, one of the students testified that man came to their apartment and pounded on the back door. When her roommate opened the door, the man appeared and told them not to yell or scream.
The woman, who testified behind a screen and through an interpreter, described how the intruder ordered her and her roommate into a bedroom, told them to take off their clothes, and began assaulting them.
Her roommate managed to get the man to stop by saying that they had money they could give to him, she testified.
The women put their clothes back on and led the man to Shelbourne Street to find a bank machine. They went to one where one of their bank cards didn’t work, then crossed the road to another.
The woman withdrew $80 or $90 — everything she had. They gave the money to the man, then decided to make a break for it, finding safety in the Starbucks coffee shop.