Police issue warning after second escort found murdered in same building in Vancouver

[Meaghan McLeod 179664]

[URL]http://bc.ctvnews.ca/warning-issued-after-2-escorts-found-dead-in-new-westminster-1.1427939[/URL]

CTV British Columbia
Published Monday, August 26, 2013 5:11PM PDT
Last Updated Monday, August 26, 2013 8:04PM PDT
Police have issued a public warning after two female escorts were found dead in the same New Westminster apartment complex within two weeks of each other.
Both of the women live in the building, located in the 200-block of 11th Street, and were found dead in their own homes.
Officers first responded to the sudden death of 45-year-old Jill Lyons on the night of Aug. 12. Karen Nabors, 48, was found dead 13 days later.
[B]Photos[/B]

[URL="http://bc.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.1427941!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_960/image.jpg"]
[IMG]http://bc.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.1427941!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_225/image.jpg[/IMG] [/URL]

Two escorts have been found dead in the same New Westminster apartment building, located in the 200-block of 11th Street, in recent weeks. Aug. 26, 2013. (CTV)



Though the causes of death have not been confirmed, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team was called to take conduct of both investigations due to the suspicious nature and close proximity of the discoveries.
â??IHITâ??s priority is to reach out to all escorts and remind them of the risks involved and to take extra precaution as it is unclear at this point why, or even if, they are in fact being targeted,â? Sgt. Jennifer Pound said in a statement.
Police confirm the women, who both worked as online escorts, knew each other.
Lyonsâ?? autopsy was inconclusive, and investigators are still awaiting toxicology tests to help determine the cause of death.
Evidence retrieved from the Naborsâ?? investigation suggests foul play may have been a factor, but no further details have been released.
Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT tip line at 1-877-551-IHIT, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 if they wish to remain anonymous



Read more: [URL]http://bc.ctvnews.ca/warning-issued-after-2-escorts-found-dead-in-new-westminster-1.1427939#ixzz2dMkHG2jD[/URL]

[RobX 2084]

A follow-up on this story in the Globe and Mail: Sex workers panicking after deaths of two B.C. escorts

[url]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/sex-workers-panicking-after-deaths-of-two-bc-escorts/article13994042/[/url]

Here is an extract:

[QUOTE]After the news broke, Susan Davisâ??s phone rang nearly non-stop â?? around 80 calls in the first 24 hours alone. A long-time sex worker, an outspoken activist and a mother figure of sorts for other women in the trade, Ms. Davis became a go-to contact for other workers panicked to learn of two recent escort deaths and left wondering: â??What should I do?â?

â??Theyâ??re freaking out. Everybody is freaking out,â? Ms. Davis said Tuesday.

â??People are working together in little collectives because no one wants to be working alone, independently, right now. Some girls have come together; other girls are going on tour. Other people are just taking down their ads and everything.â?

...

Simon Fraser University criminologist John Lowman, who has studied prostitution and related law and enforcement for more than 35 years, says safety measures are complicated by the quasi-legal status of prostitution in Canada: The sale and purchase of sex is legal, but many elements related to it â?? such as keeping a bawdy house, soliciting or communicating and living off the avails of prostitution â?? are not.

â??Legally, they canâ??t have any kind of person who lives in part on the avails of prostitution, so they canâ??t have a bodyguard,â? Mr. Lowman said. â??They canâ??t have a driver if the driver knows heâ??s being paid through the avails of prostitution.â? Sex workers canâ??t operate out of one place on an ongoing basis, or else it becomes a bawdy house, or communicate in a public place.

â??The current legal system is worse than absurd: Prostitution is legal as long as you donâ??t do it,â? he said.[/QUOTE]