Thursday January 28 2015
▼ TeenFest showcases young talent 27 ▼ Deadly dog walker sent to jail 8
The
Leader
‘I WISH I COULD TAKE HER PLACE’ ▶ HUSBAND OF MURDERED SURREY HOCKEY MOM JULIE PASKALL CARRIES GREAT GUILT OVER WIFE’S DECEMBER 2013 DEATH SHEILA REYNOLDS
Al Paskall
If he could somehow turn back the clock, Al Paskall wouldn’t hesitate. He would return to the night of Dec. 29, 2013 and instead of his wife, he would be the one to go pick up his son from hockey. Al was at Surrey Provincial Court Tuesday
(Jan. 27) to attend the first day of a preliminary hearing for Yosef Jomo Gopaul, who’s accused of killing Al’s wife, Julie Paskall. “Somebody has to be here for her,” Al told The Leader during a break in the proceedings. “I wasn’t there when I should have been there, so I think that it’s paramount that I should be here now.” Julie drove to Newton Arena, near 71 Avenue and 136B Street, on Dec. 29, and was walking to get her son when she was attacked. She was taken to hospital, where she died two days later, on Dec. 31, 2013. She was 53. “I still blame myself a lot for the death,” Al admits. “I could have been there easily, picking my son up instead of her.
“I wish I could take her place.” Evidence from the preliminary inquiry is subject to a publication ban and cannot be reported. Preliminary hearings are held to determine if there is enough evidence to justify a trial. Most of Tuesday’s testimony came from forensic pathologist Dr. Craig Litwin, who performed the autopsy on Julie. “It’s stuff you don’t want to hear,” said Al, adding he urged his children not to attend the court proceedings for now. “I’m having a hard enough time keeping it straight in there…”
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PETS AND THEIR VETS ▶ IN JUST ONE DAY, SURREY AND BURNABY ANIMAL HOSPITALS PERFORM ROUGHLY 40 FREE SURGERIES TO HELP LOCAL SHELTERS BOAZ JOSEPH
About 40 homeless animals got a boost with free surgery on Sunday, courtesy of two Lower Mainland veterinary clinics. On Jan. 25, during Vets in Action Day, staff and volunteers at Surrey’s Kennedy Heights Animal and Bird Hospital and Burnaby Veterinary Hospital closed their doors to regular patients and performed, at their own time and expense, surgery on 40 furry patients.
Animal Health Technologists Karen Phelps (left) and Barb McCall prepare Charlie the cat for dental surgery during Vets in Action Day on Jan. 25, a day where staff at Kennedy Heights Animal and Bird Hospital and Burnaby Veterinary Hospital closed their doors to regular patients and volunteered their time to perform surgery on about 40 homeless pets cared for by local animal shelters. BOAZ JOSEPH
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