Darlinda Lee Ritchey, 26, was found in a shallow grave along with Karen Baker, 20, by Indian River Road in North Vancouver in British Columbia in 1986.
David Couture was convicted of second-degree murder in 2003, but he was acquitted in 2008 after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that his estranged wife’s testimony, in which she alleged that he confessed to the killings, should not have been admitted as evidence.
At the time, Ritchey’s sister, Korry, said justice had not been served. “I feel there is no justice system in this country,” she said. “[This is] one of many cases of murder in this country where it’s a joke, where the criminal gets to walk for free. The justice system in this country works for the criminal and not for the victims.”