B.C. inquest to probe Mission double-homicide

A coroner's inquest has been called into a Mission, B.C., doublehomicide and why it took police four days to respond to a 911 report of shots being fired near the home.

Lisa Dudley, 37, Dudley was found clinging to life in her Greenwood Drive home in September 2008, four days after a neighbour first called 911 to report hearing sixshots fired on the property.

After the initial 911 call,police were called away to another incident before they could investigate, an internal RCMP investigation has already determined.

'We believe that if things would have been done differently, she'd still be alive.' Victim's stepfather Mark Surakka

When police did arrive to check the home, Dudley's partner, Guthrie McKay, 33,was already dead and Dudley was still suffering from a gunshot wound to her neck. She died en route tohospital in an air ambulance.

Investigators later called the deaths targeted hits, but never revealed how McKay was killed, only saying he had no obvious gunshot wounds. The police investigation remains ongoing, but no arrests have ever been made.

Family seeks answers

Dudley's stepfather Mark Surakka said the family still questions why officers never searched the house after the first reports of gunfire.

"We believe that if things would have been done differently, she'd still be alive," he told CBC News.

An internal RCMP investigation found errors in the actions of the 911 operator and the responding officer.

Now the family is hoping the coroner's inquest will give them more of the answers they have been seeking for almost 18 months.

"We want an accounting for what's happened. Perhaps now we can get some answers to some questions, and perhaps there's other questions that may be answered that others may have as well," said Surakka.

The coroner's office has confirmed the inquest will be held in Burnaby, but said a date for the inquest has not yet been set.It will hear evidence from subpoenaed witnesses and make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances in the future.