It has been a long wait for the friends and loved ones of Ian Roberts.
The Delta man, 43 at the time of his death, was found deceased on April 30, 2018 in rural Pitt Meadows.
This past week, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team announced a charge of first degree murder had been laid against a suspect, someone who apparently knew Roberts before his death.
This is still a long way from a conviction or a prison term – the court process moves slowly – but it is a form of closure for those who knew the victim.
Every murder is an offence against three people or groups.
First is the victim. Police and the court system have to speak up for someone who can no longer speak for themselves.
Second is those left behind. Family, friends, co-workers, and the group of people, small or large, who will feel the deceased’s absence.
Third is society at large. Murder is an offence against us all, a defiance of the rules that the vast majority of us live by all our lives. When someone is murdered, it impacts every person in the city, province, and country.
Investigations can move swiftly, with the suspect arrested at the scene, still holding the murder weapon, or they can take weeks or months. In this case, eight years passed before charges were laid.
There are some valid criticisms to be made about how long it takes to complete investigations in our province. It may be a simple need for more resources for detectives, or systemic changes to speed things up.
But when charges are brought years after a murder, it’s also a relief to know that IHIT did not give up.
It’s said there is no such thing as the perfect murder. True, some murders go unpunished, but that’s as much luck as planning.
When detectives keep working on a case, there is always a chance that something will change. An overlooked piece of evidence yields new information. Technology allows a new avenue of inquiry. A witness or accomplice feels the pangs of guilt and comes forward.
Because investigators didn’t let this case die, we now have a murder charge. Roberts, the people closest to him, and the community at large have been served by this work.
Unfortunately for IHIT, the reward for a job well done is another job. There are still unsolved murders to investigate.