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'The face of evil looks like a paperboy,' says Paskall family member

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SURREY — After seeing her sister-in-law’s alleged killer for the first time, Joan Ross was shocked.

“The face of evil looks like a paperboy,” she told the Now. “I don’t believe he was alone – he was so small.”

Yosef Jomo Gopaul, 27, is charged with second degree murder in the death of Julie Paskall.

He first appeared in Surrey provincial court Monday morning.

Wearing a blue fleece sweater, a sombre Gopaul was remanded and is next due in court on June 13.

Simon Buck, part of the defence in the Surrey Six trial, is Gopaul’s lawyer. At the Surrey provincial courthouse Monday morning, Buck said he is “not prepared to talk about the case.”

It was coincidental and fortuitous that on Saturday, the same day Gopaul was charged, Paskall’s family gathered as the city dedicated a plaque and tree to the late hockey mom at Holland Park.

At 11 a.m., Paskall’s family gathered in the park to see the memorial being placed, and then headed to RCMP headquarters in Green Timbers to learn more about the man who allegedly took her life.

Martin Ross, Paskall’s only sibling, said Saturday was a day of emotional ups and downs.

“This morning we had the dedication at Holland Park and that was good for the family, to be gathered around and to have something to remember their mother and sister and daughter. That was a positive experience.”

News of a murder charge was the “icing on the cake.”

While news of a suspect being apprehended was positive for the family, it was also difficult.

“It brings back a lot of memories from four-and-a-half months ago,” he said after a press conference Saturday.

“It’s not closure. It’s not going to be closure for quite a number of years,” Martin said. “It’s good news that this person is off the streets and is not going to hurt anybody else. I think that’s probably the biggest relief.”

The Brampton Guardian reported a man by the same name was charged with aggravated sexual assault in 2010.

On Jan. 1, 2010, at approximately 2:30 a.m., a 29-year-old woman was attacked on the street. She was pushed to the ground and dragged toward a nearby creek, the newspaper reported.

The suspect fled on foot after a witness began to approach them.

The victim sustained injuries to her face and body. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated and released.

Through the course of the investigation, it was learned that the suspect had contact with the victim earlier that night at a local establishment. He was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault.

A representative from the Ontario Court of Justice did not find anything in the court system under the man’s name, but said that doesn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t convicted.

Peel Regional Police confirmed a man by that name was charged in 2010, but would not comment on the outcome of the charge, only saying, “the matter was dealt with here in Peel. It was completed here.”

Last Saturday, Integrated Homicide Investigation Team spokesperson Supt. Kevin Hackett wouldn’t confirm if the man charged in Brampton was the suspect in the Paskall case, but did say the man had a criminal record from another province.

Hackett said Gopaul came to the city from Ontario eight weeks prior to the attack. He did not know why Gopaul made the move, but said he had a fixed address in Surrey.

Police knew of the suspect within the first month of the investigation, Hackett said.

When asked if police confirmed the motive behind the attack to be robbery, and perhaps found Paskall’s purse, Hackett said he couldn’t comment, as doing so could jeopardize the case through the court process. He would only say, “We are here because we’ve got the evidence.”

“Our combined investigation efforts to date have been extensive,” Hackett said.

“It included a significant canvas of the area, review of approximately 1,000 hours of video footage and countless hours of physical surveillance.”

Hackett couldn’t say whether police suspect Gopaul is responsible for other attempted robberies in the area, only saying police continue to investigate.

During Saturday’s press conference, Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy took to the podium and sent his condolences to the Paskall family.

He said the crime touched him as a citizen of Surrey, police chief, hockey dad, hockey player and former coach.

Fordy said in the weeks following Paskall’s murder, he attended community meetings and received many calls. He had this to say to residents: “I heard you crystal clear. Your concerns, fears, frustration and suggestions. But, I also heard and felt and saw your support and your trust.”

Paskall's death spurred public outcry for increased safety in the community.

In the wake of the murder, Surrey RCMP increased foot and bike patrols in Newton, targeting drug dealing, drunkkenness and prostitution in the town core.

Police implemented 24-hour patrols and safety officers, and members of the Surrey Crime Prevention Society made efforts to decrease crime in the community.

The city also added lighting and closed circuit television coverage in the area.

After news broke that the alleged killer had been arrested, the community began asking if increased police presence would remain.

Top cop Fordy said the Surrey RCMP will analyze and decide on how to deploy resources in that community.

Mayor Dianne Watts said Saturday that foot patrols and community policing would be upheld.

"When you have around the clock surveilance on a suspect, now that the suspect is apprehended, of course those resources will be redeployed. But as far as the community policing piece, that will remain intact," Watts said.

"Most certainly, today is a day of celebration, that this individual has been caught," she said, adding that the murder "hit everybody to the core."

"Especially something that is such a random act of such violence. And from somebody that has only been in the city eight weeks. That in itself will even strike a deeper chord."

Paskall's sister-in-law spoke to the Now in the weeks following Paskall's murder, and called for the community to take its power back.

"I think that people need to take back their power, their own personal power, and that will help them take back their community," Ross said in an exclusive interview. "We can't take back Julie's death, but we can take back the meaningless nature of her death."

Ross told the Now she believes the attack was drug related, and had a message for those responsible: "Look at yourself. Is that where you want to be? Killing someone for drug money? Are you going to allow your addiction to control you? Do you think there aren't other people in the world that haven't had your bag of hammers, your life, your horror, your grief? There are," she said.

"Maybe there's hope for someone like that, some kind of redemption. It isn't going to come from me, I don't have that much charity in my heart, but I don't hate them. But I don't want them on the street. I don't know that there's any rehabilitation in that regard. I want the streets to be safe, and I don't want them out there. They've lost that chance," Ross said.

News of an arrest came the same day as a Variety -The Children's Charity benefit concert was set to be held in Paskall's honour.

Organizer Cherelle Jardine was shocked to hear of the arrest Friday afternoon.

"Oh my God," she said. "That's amazing."

Jardine, who along with her daughter makes up the band The Jardines, did not know Paskall, but was touched by her tragic death.

"That she was just waiting for her son and ended up being killed. It was shocking," she said.

Al Paskall's co-worker and friend Johnny DeMarco said he was shocked by the news.

"I'm a little freaked out about it right now," he said Friday evening.

DeMarco, who is one of the organizers of the memorial concert for Paskall, heard the news from a neighbour.

"We were going to talk about how there's been no closure (at Friday night's concert), but now I don't know, I don't know where this leaves it."

DeMarco was working with Al Paskall as a longshoreman when they got to talking about the tragedy.

"I felt so bad for him. I thought, 'What can I do? I wish there was some way to help him."

DeMarco said the concert was a way to remember Paskall and support a cause she cared about.

He said the Paskalls had been "bombarded" by publicity after the mother's death - "I think the family is pretty tired right now."

-With files from The Province