The man accused of murdering two young B.C. girls more than three decades ago made his first appearance in Supreme Court Friday.
Garry Taylor Handlen, 67, is charged with the first-degree murders of 11-year-old Kathryn-Mary Herbert in 1975 and 12-year-old Monica Jack in 1978.
Handlen’s case was elevated from provincial court to B.C. Supreme Court because of a direct indictment filed by the Criminal Justice Branch.
The Ontario man is seeking release pending trial, but the Crown said it will oppose that request in the interest of public safety.
Herbert was reported missing Sept. 24, 1975 after she didn’t come home from a friend’s house in Abbotsford. Her body was found on a First Nations reserve two months later.
Jack was last spotted cycling along a stretch of highway in Merritt, B.C. Her body wasn’t found for another 17 years.
Handlen’s bail hearing is set for mid-May.
None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.
