NANAIMO — Kelly Boroski struggled to find words to describe her sorrow as a preliminary inquiry into the murder of her great-niece Makayla Chang began Monday in B.C. Supreme Court.
The 16-year-old disappeared in March 2017, and her body was found two months later.
“I have no words. It’s heartbreaking,” Boroski said, standing outside court on the grey November morning.
Boroski wasn’t just mourning the loss of the teenager four years ago, but that of Boroski’s sister Dolly Chang — Makayla’s grandmother — who died of cancer on June 1. Chang raised Makayla and fought fiercely to protect her.
“I’m here for my sister. Dolly wanted closure,” said Boroski. “We’re all here for closure.”
Steven Michael Bacon, 60, who was brought to Nanaimo from the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, Ont., has pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Bacon was arrested in Fredericton, N.B., in September 2019 after Nanaimo RCMP made a Canada-wide appeal for help locating him as a person of interest in the case.
Although five days were set aside for the hearing, Bacon consented to having the matter committed to stand trial. A trial date will be set on Nov. 15.
The evidence presented at the hearing cannot be reported because it is covered by a publication ban.
But it was too much for Makayla’s mother, Jan Voutor, who left shortly after the preliminary inquiry began.
“It was super-emotional and upsetting to hear what we heard today, because none of us have heard any of this before, so it was probably a lot for Jan,” said family friend Cyndy Hall. “It was heartbreaking to see her. It’s heartbreaking to see the pain. She was right beside me.”
Hall, who met Makayla’s father, Kerry Chang, through her advocacy work for missing and murdered women, said she was in court to show support, “because every missing and murdered person deserves justice and they deserve to have people to show up to show they care.”
Hall said she felt “a wave of grief” for Makayla and wanted Bacon to look at the people in the courtroom, “so he knows that Makayla is loved and that we’re there.”
“He won’t look back. He just looks straight ahead.”
The murder of Makayla, who was just a child when she disappeared, continues to have a big impact on the community, said Hall.
