Skip to content

Proctor family statements speak to unbearable grief

The Proctor family is forever changed by the murder that took from them an 18-year-old daughter, sister and niece.

There were few dry eyes in the courtroom as victim impact statements of Kimberly Proctors family were read Tuesday afternoon.

Her maternal grandmother, Linda, took the stand to describe the murder's affected on the tight-knit family.

"My family used to laugh together, now we have an underlying feeling of anger," she said, describing her own day-to-day life as "living with not enthusiasm."

She said she can't sleep through the night and always wakes up with tears in her eyes and feels physically ill throughout the day.

Kimberly's mother Lucia said in her statement, read for her by a close family friend, that before the killing she thought all people were inherently good but the crime crushed that belief.

"There truly is evil in this world and my daughter came face to face with that evil," the mother wrote.

She described periods of being so overwhelmed by grief that she doesn't get off the couch for days and needs her husband to stay at home with her.

"I can't bare to be in the house alone," she wrote. "It's too quiet without my Kimmy running around."

The victim's only sibling Robert, who was two years older than her, had a statement read by crown prosecutor Tamera Hodge.

He'd written that when he found out his sister was dead, "My life was over. I was in shock ... I could not believe human beings could be so cruel."

He said he thinks about his sister everyday.

Fred Proctor also left the reading of his statement to Hodge. In it he expressed anger towards the criminal justice system that will never allow the family true closure.

"We now live our lives like the family of Robert Pickton's victims; we'll always be in and out of courtrooms," he said, pointing out that when the killers seek parole the family will have to re-hash everything again.

"People say we'll have closure after the sentencing, but that just shows their ignorance," his statement said. "I was her father, and I was supposed to keep her safe."

He said he feels rage everyday.

Two of victim's maternal aunts read their own statements, one also read how the crimes had impacted Kimberly's nine and 13-year-old cousins.

All the statements included fond memories of the deceased, recalling her love of animals, sewing skills and kind-hearted nature, as well as how much she was looking forward to graduation.

Her mother recalled how Kimberly would call her five to 10 times per day, if only to say "I'm bored mom, just wanted to share."

"A piece of me has been ripped out," he mother wrote. "I'll never get to see my daughter grow up."

news@goldstreamgazette.com