Criminologist urges patience in Trina Hunt murder case, says police being cautious

PORT MOODY (NEWS 1130) – Speculation and frustration from some continues to swirl, days after homicide investigators searched Trina Hunt’s Port Moody home, but a criminologist says police are clearly being very careful — which is a good thing.

The 48-year-old’s remains were found in Hope in March, two months after she went missing. There have still been no arrests or charges laid in connection with her death, which is being treated as a homicide.

“Police are very obviously proceeding with an abundance of caution, and that is appropriate,” explained Rob Gordon, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University. “They don’t want to trip over a procedural problem which will result in difficulty in the presentation of evidence to the court.”

He believes police likely have a list of suspects at this point, but things must be done by the book.

“They’re obviously very careful, very professional about the process of amassing admissible evidence. There’s actually been also the issue of just simply amassing information, which may or may not lead to admissible evidence,” Gordon added.

“It may not be a very long list, but [police] will be out there looking for information that confirms or does not confirm the presentation of that list, and the identification of people who should not be on it.”

In recent days, investigators have been seen taping off both Hunt’s home in Port Moody, as well as a property in Mission. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed on Sunday that search warrants for two homes were being executed over the weekend.

Investigation into Trina Hunt's homicide continues today. Search warrants for 2 residences were executed this weekend – one in Port Moody and the other in Mission. No arrests have been made. No further update at this time.

— IHIT (@HomicideTeam) June 6, 2021

“It tells me that they’re following up on leads and that they’re probably hopeful that something will turn up for them, but they don’t have enough at this point,” Gordon said of these search warrants.

 

While there’s a lot of attention on this case and some may be feeling frustrated to see no new developments, Gordon says it’s important people be patient and let the investigation unfold.

He explains investigators need to acquire evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt,” and notes police are careful with not rushing the process.

“Because they look foolish if they lay charges and then it turns out the evidence wasn’t as sound as they thought it was,” he told NEWS 1130.

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• Trina Hunt’s family calls for justice after Port Moody woman’s death

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And the way things are unfolding is not uncommon, Gordon notes, stressing the importance of having air-tight evidence to secure a conviction.

“There have been instances in the past where mistakes have been made, and cases have been thrown out, and where prime suspects have been released — which angers people. So the police are being really, really careful, and that’s appropriate. That’s the professional way of approaching it,” Gordon added.

Hunt’s disappearance in January sparked a massive effort to find her, with daily searches being held. While her remains were found by investigators on March 29, it was not until May 1 that the discovery was publicly announced.

Her family recently put up a reward of up to $50,000 for any new information that leads to arrests or charges.