‘Abbotsford Killer’ Terry Driver dies in prison of apparent natural causes | CBC News

Smith and Cockerill were assaulted with a baseball bat as they returned from a birthday party, with Smith’s body later found in B.C.’s Vedder River.

The heinous attacks shocked the Fraser Valley and the whole of British Columbia. Driver was eventually caught in 1996 after an extended period where he taunted investigators.

He died at Mountain Institution, a medium-security federal penitentiary in Agassiz, B.C., on Monday. His in-custody death will be investigated by correctional services.

Murderer taunted police for 7 months

Driver attacked Cockerill and Smith on the night of Oct. 13, 1995, near the Abbotsford hospital, with Cockerill suffering severe head injuries after being knocked out cold. Smith was raped and later found drowned in the Vedder River.

Police were initially not looking for Driver, who was not known to them before the incident. He proceeded to taunt them by leaving threatening phone calls, and with other more brazen incidents, over the course of seven months.

The killer attended Smith’s funeral and later stole her headstone, leaving it on a vehicle belonging to an Abbotsford radio station.

Driver also left messages at the radio station and with police, threatening to kill others. He also claimed to have been responsible for multiple other assaults before 1995.

The calls caused widespread panic and were later aired as investigators searched for leads. A $10,000 reward was offered.

Driver’s mother and brother recognized his voice after the broadcast, and their tip led to his arrest in May 1996.

George Ferguson, who was mayor of Abbotsford, said at the time that Driver would never have been found without the reward, as he was known as a “family man” before his crimes.

He unsuccessfully appealed his life sentence in 2001, with his designation as a dangerous offender allowing him to be incarcerated indefinitely.

Cockerill survived the incident and went on to be an advocate for victims’ rights.