A 51-year-old man has been arrested in Quebec in a decade-old murder in Surrey, B.C., truck driver.
Gary Johnston is accused of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Victor Fraser in March 1998.
"I prepared myself for a long time for this day," his sister Jeanie Fraser said.
"I prayed to God everyday. I watched mass on TV everyday."
The 43-year-old was killed during a botched robbery at Jeanie's home. He apparently surprised the thief that was ransacking her Surrey residence.
Surrey RCMP say Johnston's name surfaced early in the investigation but there wasn't enough evidence to lay charges until an unsolved homicide unit was set up in the detachment in 2005, leading to new information in the case.
Police say at the time of his arrest, Johnston was on parole for a manslaughter conviction.
Johnston is still in Montreal, and is expected to be returned to B.C. to face the charge later this month.
"We are currently waiting for Mr. Johnson to be transferred to Surrey from Montr�al," Sgt. Roger Morrow said.
"He should be appearing in court by Thursday."
Fraser's family says they miss him everyday.
"Whenever he stopped by my house I would drop whatever I was doing," his niece Lorraine said. "It was like 'uncle Vic's here.' I just love him."
"I just found Christmas the most difficult time to celebrate in our family because we always associate Vic with Christmas," Jeanie said.
"He just had a heart of gold."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Julia Foy and files from The Canadian Press
