’ From page 1

_ Superior Court of Washington for

' King County. ;
That night, Vancouver RCMP
: arrested the pair at their home at
2021 Philip Ave. in’ North
Vancouver. :

The pair stand accused of killing
Rafay’s parents, Tariq and Sultana,
both 56, and their daughter, Basma,
21, on July 12,1994... -

According to Washington court
officials, Burns beat all three Rafay
family, members with a bat as Auf
Rafay watched. Atif Rafay’s mother
was killed before his father, Basma
was the last to be attacked.

Atif Rafay reportedly stated that
he felt “rotten” about the murder of .
his family, but: it' was “necessary”
for what he wanted to achieve in’.
life. is ;

Police sav the motive’ for the
killings centred upon the $350,000

~~. Atif Rafay would receive from life
insurance. policies and the sale of
the family home.

But the: News, has learned that

“Atif: Rafay’s. deep interest “in
philosopher Friedrich Nietzche may,
have played.a role’in the motive. —
- Nietzche was noted for his concept .
“of the superman and his rejection of
“traditional Christian values.

Atif Rafay’s favorite philosopher
is Ayn Rand followed by Nietzche, .°.-

- The Rafay family’ had lived at -
-2020° ‘Sandown |. Pl: in: “North
Vancouver. before | moving ©. (0.
Bellevue. about.a year prior. to the
_ Murders. _

- ‘The. Bellevue ‘Police investiga-
“tion of the crime was bolstered with
= evidence from a’ Vancouver RCMP.

investigation. The Vancouver RCMP conducted -

undercover ., work | for’ a conspiracy to commit
murder investigation. s
~ Vancouver KCMP were looking into the pos-
“sibility that the murders were planned in Canada.
i Burns and Atif Rafay reportedly confessed to
4 committing the murders on July 18 this year dur-
ing’ judicially. authorized electronic bugging. by
- the Vancouver RCMP. os
-" “Burns DNA was obtained by Bellevue Police
after Bums reportedly blew his nose in a napkin

in’a_ restaurant. An undercover RCMP officer .

watching him retrieved it: > .
-: Bellevue Police.-had “asked - ‘Burns and Atif
" Rafay to provide DNA samples to allow compar-

ison’ tests ‘with crime-scene evidence. The” pair
-had refused to cooperate and, unlike Washington

“State law at the time, the pair could not be forced
to give DNA‘samples in Canada. ‘, i
‘The’ lawyer for the two accused men, Pat
Beirne, was’ unavailable: for comment to’ press
“time:
A’ conviction ° of fi irst-degree mtirder in
' Washington State, can carry life in prison or the
* “death penalty. |
“Meanwhile, Vancouver RCMP spokesman
‘Sat ] Peter Montague said a third man arrested on

eS

“ West Vancouver secondary school 1999 Yearbook photos .

CLASS CILOWN Sebastian Burns strikes
a pose on table (above) and (right) his
grad portrait.

Monday was released without
charges. The man, described as an
acquaintance of Burns and AUf |
Rafay,:was arrested in connection

“with: the conspiracy to commit

murder investigation.

Montague would not: disclose
where the man lived, but said he was not arrested
at Burns’ and Atif Rafay’s home.

Meanwhile, the North Vancouver RCMP

arrested Atif Rafay, Burns and their roommate, °
on April 27 at their Philip.

Jimmy Miyoshi,
Avenue home,

Local police had received complaints over a

four-month period from neighbors disturbed by
loud riusic played all night and people from the
house shouting out the windows fate at night,
according to. North Vancouver RCMP Const.
Catherine Galliford.

Police seized a halogen search light from the
trio’s house. One neighbor claimed it was shone
on his bedroom window during the wee hours of
the morning..for about four months, said
Galliford. Atif Rafay, Burns and Miyoshi. 20,
were held in. North' Vancouver RCMP cells
overnight and later charged with mischief.’

Miyoshi attended West Vancouver secondary

Friday, August 4,
\ mo

JIMMY MIYOSHI... arrested
with Burns and Rafay for mis-
_Shief at Philip Avenue home.

with Auf Rafay- and Burns.
The mischief charge has been set
‘for trial on Nov. .27 in) North

Vancouver provincial court.
Galliford said police here held a
specia) Block Watch meeting .to

“put the feurs of the neighbors to

rest” as the “rumor mill was run-
ning rampant’ about events at the
house.

: Burns, Auf Rafay and Miyoshi’

’ graduated from West
Vancouver secondary in
(993. Rafay attended
prestigious
University in ,the
United States where he
; Studied _ philosophy.
Burns. whose family
live in West Vancouver,
auended Capilano
“College afters doing
poorly in high school
- near prac uation,
Said "Michael
Sherman, who went to
high school with. the
pair. “They, were very
intelligent: . and
eccentric."
Burns’ and -. Atif
Rafay. were in the West Vancouver: School
District's International Baccalaureate : Program
designed for academic high achievers.

. Burns was banned from his school graduation
ceremonies after he admitted to writing a cryptic
message in his grad yearbook which was deci-
phered as a lewd remark about a teacher,

The annual was‘ recalled ‘anda new edition
printed after objectionable | portions were
removed. Other students were involved in writing
material that school staff did not like.

In the distributed annual,
prominently in several pictures. One photograph
shows Burns with fellow. classmates involved in
a play called Rope. The play is about two univer-

sity school students’ who almost get away with:

murder,
The script looks |: at the concept of murder
condoned by ‘the judgment of an “enlightened”

Cornell .

very

Burns figures

“WHEN IT comes to pay-
ing fines in’ North
Vancouver District, a sack
full of nickels, dimes and
pennies just doesn't carry
much weight.

‘By lan Noble
News Reporter

That's what North
Vancouver resident Allan
Burgesse discovered when he
attempted to pay a $20 park-

» ing ticket with a loud of silver,:
nickel and copper.

After paying his June 28
ticket, he received a note from
the district saying his $20 tick-
et had risen to $25 on July 20.

An irate Burgesse ques-
tioned whether the district was
being reasonable in rejecting
his unrolled bag of coins.

“fm paying the fine on the
same day. in legal tender.” he
said. “What's the problem?"
‘The -problem, said North
Vancouver District. assistant.:
‘manager of revenue und taxa-_
tion Norm McCormick, is that:
‘district employees do not have

_ to accept loose coins in large

‘quantities,

All they have to’ accept is ©
25 pennies, $5 worth of nick-
“ els and $10 worth of dimes.

. McCormick informed
Burgesse that his sack of coins
| was-in the district’ s safe, ;
: awaiting pick-up. ;
|. McCormick said the dis-_
: trict would accept the coins if.
' Burgesse would come in and,
* roll them, :
--, Burgesse told the News he
was willing to do that.
Burgesse said the ‘“short
; and high-temperature” discus-
| sion he. had with McCormick

' mever. got to the. point: of.

rolling the coins.
|. In the meantime, Burgesse
: has a question: If people don’t
~ have to accept pennies, what is °
. he supposed to do: with his~
: penny collection, which has
; Brown since the birth of the::
/GST?)

POINT ATKINSON’S two lightkeepers
' will go within the next year-in a cost-
cutting move announced by Ottawa
Wednesday.

By lan Noble
News Reporier.

“But a “shocked and disappointed” “West

Vancouver mayor, Mark Sager, told the News
he would be writing Fisheries and Oceans
Minister Brian Tobin to convince him to spare
~ the“ jobs~ of long-time : lightkeepers Gerry
_ Watson and Don Graham. ,

./ Sager. said. the -West Vancouver lightkeep-
ers provide many valuable services that can't

“be. performed by automated .equipment the .
coast guard plans to replace lightkeepers with.
“An automated. machine reads weather,
“jawaves and tides. It doesn’t give you the kind
of information that i is required both for uvia-
tors and mariners,” said Sager...
* Tides and currents in the busy local marine
area pose potential perils, he said. “The light-
‘house keeper plays a vital role in safety in that

regard.”

Local mariners, who supported lightkeep-
ers ata Meeting in North Vancouver earlier
this year, remain committed to manned Sight-
“houses.

Said West Vancouver resident Ray Pillman,
a past president of the Outdoor Recreation
, Council of B.C. and a mentber of the Sea
' Kayaking Association of B.C.: “fhe comfort
of knowing that there ts somebody there to
report and get aid to you if you should be in
trouble is something that will be missed.”

Pillman, who kayaks in local waters and
was an’ outspoken critic of the coast guard's
destaffing proposal at the North Vancouver
ineeting, said he’s disappointed the lighikeep- '

_ ers Will-no longer provide safety, weather, law
“enforcement and data collecting services.

“t's difficult to understand why anyone

» would go against the logic of keeping the
‘ Jighthouses staffed,” he said Wednesday.

‘> But the federal government’s Canada-wide

push to remove lightkeepers and replace then: -
with automated ‘equipment: boils down; to *

money, said Tobin in a press’ release.

“Canada is not alone in its efforts to reduce,

costs while providing service to mariners,”
said the minister, “Technological. improve-
ments and the changing necds of mariners
have led to the destatfing of lightstations in
many parts of the world.”

“In response to those advances, Canada, as

_ Well. will proceed with the destaffing of light.”
‘stations when required. safety services are in

place and fully functional.”

Point Atkinson. in operation since 1875, is
one of vight lightstations in B.C. and 18 in
Canada to lose lightkeepers within one year.

Canadian Coast Guard public‘alfairs offi-

cer Rod Nelson said the feds would save

roughly $t million’ per year by cutting: the ©

eight B.C. stations’ lightkeepers.
' The cost to Ottawa to upgrade equipment

at those lightstations will be roughly 32 mil

lion, he said. |
Exact. figures for, Point Atkinson are not

‘available, Nelson’ said. Lightkeepers earn

$20.689 to $36,267 a year,

Graham said he will fight for his job, reel-
ing. off a handful of, reasons that” Point
Atkinson should remain manned. ‘

| Although ‘the’ feds claim: the | autontited

equipment. has-a good reliability ‘record,
Graham notes B.C. mariners seriously ques-
tioned that reliability during the consultation |
process and were dissatisfied with the perfor-
mance of automated weather stations.

He said Point’ Atkinson,’ which. is in’
Lighthouse Park, had two main light failures:
this past winter. Point Atkinson lightkeepers
provide local marine weather reports’ every

three hours and‘on demand, and update sud-' ”

den weather changes: :
Graham said he and Watson watch for’ and
extinguish fires in’ the heavily forested

Lighthouse Park’ area: They also combat yan->

dalism’ and crime in/a‘ park. that. saw’ 127
crimes ranging from theft from auto to arson
and assault between 1992 and 1994." a
The coast guard plans to replace. the two
lightkeepers .with new . equipment. at . Point:
Atkinson, including a battery backup, remote.
monitoring’ of aids to navigation and a stitne
dard weather station to monitor local winds,
The coast guard said Point Atkinson will "
lose its lightkeepers in the ‘first-stage of ils
destalfing policy “as. solutions “are readily
available to deal with concems 1 /
te