Mounties are asking the person claiming to be the killer of 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest to contact them after they received a letter threatening further violence against women.
The RCMP detachment in the small town of Armstrong, B.C. received a letter Wednesday from someone who says they murdered Van Diest on Halloween night.
Investigators have been unable to determine if the note truly was written by the killer, but are urging the author to call or write to them again, Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told reporters Thursday.
"They would like to create a dialogue to prevent any further violence," Moskaluk said.
"If anyone is aware of the identity of the author of this letter, we strongly urge them to contact the police."
He says the letter contains "limited information" about the murder, but includes threats of further trouble in the Okanagan town. Police are recommending that Armstrong residents and people living in nearby communities take extra measures to stay safe.
Although police aren't speculating on whether the letter is legitimate, experts with experience in similar investigations say there's reason to believe the author could be Van Diest's murderer.
Forensic psychologist Stephen Hart says there are many motivations that could lead a killer to write to police.
"If this is, in fact, a communication from the perpetrator, it is an indication that person wants to communicate or open a dialogue," he told CTV News.
"There may be somebody in Armstrong or somebody nearby who knows that a friend or family member ... is focusing too much on this particular crime, that they become obsessed or preoccupied with it."
That's exactly what happened in the case of Terry Driver, who murdered Tanya Smith in 1995. He called police to tell them he was the Abbotsford killer and even penned a letter admitting to the crime.
His lawyer says that Driver became fixated on his crimes and the media coverage of the slaying.
"He became obsessive about it, and in the Driver case, the police caught on to that," Glen Orris said.
Psychologist Mike Webster worked on the case, and developed a media strategy to tempt the killer to call police. It worked, and Driver's mother was able to recognize her son's voice from a tape made of the call.
Webster says a similar strategy could work in the Van Diest case.
"Is he making predictions? Is he challenging police? Is he boasting about something? Is he attempting to dupe them in some way? Those are the indicators that would suggest to you that this fellow is looking for a game of wits," he said.
Still no suspects in Van Diest murder
Van Diest died in hospital on Oct. 31 after she was found unconscious and severely injured near the railroad tracks that run through Armstrong. Police are not revealing the cause of death.
The slain teen was last heard from shortly after leaving her family home to meet up with someone. She was dressed like a zombie at the time.
Friends say the last word from Van Diest was a text message to her boyfriend reading, "I'm being creeped."
Van Diest's family says that her boyfriend, Colton Luttmerding, was the one to discover the teen lying gravely injured in a bushy area.
Investigators have yet to identify a suspect in the murder.
RCMP opened a tip line Thursday at 1-888-688-4264 to solicit more information about Van Diest's murder.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington