Cory Sater, the Coquitlam man charged in the Feb. 19 hit-and-run deaths of Charlene Reaveley and Lorraine Cruz, did not appear in court Thursday for a scheduled bail hearing.
Sater, who has been remanded in custody at the North Fraser Pre-trial Centre since his arrest Feb. 20, was due to appear in a Port Coquitlam provincial courtroom via video link from the centre.
Appearing on Sater's behalf, lawyer Tony Serka asked that his client not appear on the courtroom video screen, which briefly showed an empty room at the detention centre.
Serka asked that the bail hearing be moved to March 30, saying that he intended to ask for bail for his client but didn't yet have enough information about the case.
Crown counsel argued that Sater should make an appearance on the screen before the court but was unsuccessful.
"What purpose would that serve?" Serka asked.
For the family of hit-and-run victim Reaveley, the accused's failure to appear was another disappointing delay in what has already been a protracted start to the legal process.
"No surprises here, once again," Brian Reaveley, Charlene Reaveley's father-in-law, told The Tri-City News outside the courtroom. "But I've got my faith in the investigators that they'll do the best job they can."
He expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support from the community since Charlene's death, noting especially last Friday's dinner and fundraiser for the Reaveleys at the Cat and Fiddle restaurant.
"It was overwhelming. It was just fabulous," he said
Sater is scheduled to appear in PoCo court by video on the morning of March 30 to set a date for his bail hearing.
