Surrey killing reignites political debate about bail reform

The murder of 30-year-old Tori Dunn has not only shattered her family and shaken her Surrey community—it’s also reignited a heated political debate about bail reform.

“It's clear the pain that’s caused by the failure of our justice system,” said Elenore Sturko, a candidate for the BC Conservatives in Surrey, at a press conference last Friday.

Adam Mann has been charged with second-degree murder in Dunn's death—which her family alleges was a random stabbing attack on June 16 in her Port Kells home.

At the time, Mann was out on bail after being charged with two counts of robbery in April, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed to CTV News.

Mann has also been charged with aggravated assault in an alleged May stabbing of another woman in Surrey—three weeks before Dunn's death—also while out on bail.

He also has an extensive criminal record dating back to Ontario -- where in 2009 he was sentenced to 12 years in jail for armed robbery and other offences. At that time, he had 22 convictions.

“It’s difficult to believe that justice will be done when the justice system has already failed our family, said Tori’s father, Aron Dunn, on Friday.

Niki Sharma, B.C.’s Attorney General, said in a statement last week the Crown opposed Mann's bail prior to the alleged murder, adding, “We will be looking what happened here and advocating to Ottawa to ensure the federal Criminal Code is responsive to public safety needs.”

But Michael Mulligan, a Victoria-based criminal defence lawyer, says the problem isn’t bail reform but the root causes of crime, especially when it comes to random attacks.

“It would be clear to anyone in the criminal justice system would be that we have hundreds of people who are often mentally ill and addicted, seriously addicted, to drugs like fentanyl,” said Mulligan Tuesday.

The charges against Mann have not been tested in court. He is now in custody and is scheduled to next appear in court on July 19.