Friday, August 19, 1994 - North Shore News - 3 Molly Investigation of Bellevue killings leads to West Van Detectives check alibis of son, friend, as well as mysterious stranger leads DETECTIVES IN Bellevue, Washington are keeping their eyes on Bellevue teenager Atif Rafay and his West Vancouver friend Sebastian Burns in their investigation of a triple homicide which took place in the Seattle suburb July 12. By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter Rafay, 18, and Burns, 19, discovered the bludgeoned bodies of Rafay’s father Tarig. mother Sultana and fatally injured older sister Basma late on the night of July 12. Burns made the 9-1-1 call to police. Such taped calls are sometimes later releascd to the media in the U.S. but State of Washington law forbids this. Since that time, Rafay has been living in seclusion with Burns in West Vancouver. He did not attend his family’s funerals in Bellevue but did attend a memorial service for them in Vancouver. . Civil engineer Tariq Rafay was a prominent member of Vancouver’s Pakistani community for a decade, and a past-president of the Pakistan-Canada Friendship Society. The family moved to Bellevue from North Vancouver just over a year ago, According to the police, robbery did aot seem ‘o be the motive for the murders. “We don’t have anybody that we have said ‘John Doe is a suspect,’” said Lieut. Jack McDonald of the Bellevue Police Department. But, he said, detectives are “concentrating on the young men.” : Rafay and Burns have hired a lawyer, he said. The two were high school buddies at West Vancouver Secondary. After graduating, Rafay entered Cornell University, where he made the dean’s list last year. Burns and he had inoved into the Rafays* house on the Monday before the murders. Their alibis state that they were out together at the time the crimes were committed. McDonald said police have confirmed that Rafay and Burns were seen in a movic theatre at the beginning of The Lion King but have been unable to find a theatre patron who saw them at the end of the movie. The young men were also scen at a restaurant Rwandan relief effort show set for Sunday and a disco that night. McDonald said “there are a couple of gaps” in their alibi which still need to be filled in, but “we have no reason to doubt that they were there (at the movie).” Detectives have also been looking into the fact that Rafay and Burns appeared together ina play in high school, called Roepe, which focused on two wealthy university students who plan to murder a peer. Burns played the killer. , McDonald said there were parallels between the triple homicide and the events in the play, but it would be a leap to draw any conclusions at this point. Police are pursuing tips they have received about the murder — “the mysterious stranger type of leads” that McDonald said are common during murder investigations. As yet, the murder weapon has not been identified, but the department is still examining a number of items taken from the house. Bellevue detectives conducted some investi- gations in West Vancouver last month but are no longer there. Rafay is, though. “We know where he's at,” said McDonald. RWANDAN SUFFERING has inspired a major, 12-hour con- cert to raise funds for the relief effort in Africa. “RWANDAID: The Wing and a Prayer Concert”. will be heid Sunday, Aug. 21 in the Commodore Ballroom, 870 Granville St. in Vancouver from noon to midnight. The music festival will offer tunes for every taste, from blues to funky rock to West African dance thythms. Among the North Shore artists booked are comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong and Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, an R & B band that dates back to the 1976s. Other performers include the Henry Young Jazz Ensemble with the L.A. Horns, Jim Byres, Dee Daniels, Floyd Snead ( formerly of Three Dog Night), Alpha Yaya Diallo, Bafing, HB Concept, Faith & Desire, Sybil Thrasher, Candy Churchill, Cast of Shadows, Kin La Lat, OPAH...ILL. AHA, Rhema, Skwid, Brent Mosely, Richard Bennett, Rich Tyznik, Doyle Sanders, Amanda Hughes, Dr. Z & the MDs and a First Nations dance group. Tickets are $12 at the door. Children under 12 come free; minors are welcome unti) 7 p.m. Admission for seniors is half-price. Proceeds will go to OXFAM- Canada, the international develop- ment and aid organization, and will be earmarked for Rwandan relief. Performers are donating their time. Direct donations to Rwanda relief may also be made by calling OXFAM-Canada in Toronto at |- 800-GO-OXFAM (1-800-466- 9326), calling the Vancouver office at 736-7678 or by sending a cheque to OXFAM-Canada, 2524 Cypress St., Vancouver, B.C. V6) 3N2. For more information, call Richard Marcuse at OXFAM- Canada at 736-7678. Index B Classified... 1 Bi Comics B Crossword .... Bi Trevor Lautens......cscesseeeees 6 call - CALL US: 983-2208 @ Mailbox... @ News of the Weird @& Paul St. Pierre... NEWS photo Paul McGrath A WOMAN and child stroll along the pier at John Lawson Park in West Vancouver as the waves roll in. Should search and rescue officials charge rescued people David Hill North Vancouver People should be charged for rescue if they flagrantly disregard safety -rules or posted guidelines. o r o Yolan Chordash North Vancouver If somebody's breaking the laws and rules, they should be charged tor this disobedience. The taxpayers shouldn't be billed. the kitty | drops 12 | storeys; | 8 lives to go AT THE tender age of three months, Molly has already spent one of her nine lives, By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter The kitten fell off the bal- cony of her owner's apart- ment at 701 West Victoria Park Jate Friday night and plummeted 12 storeys. Marilyn Hughes and her boyfriend, Steve Horvath, noticed the kitten was miss- ing when they got up on Saturday morning. “She either was sleeping and rolled over (the bal- cony’s edge) or was playing around,” said Hughes, who leaves the balcony door open at night. “She usually comes into the bedroom and wakes us: up. And at breakfast, she’s usually the first one there.” Hughes and Horvath searched the apartment and couldn't find the cat. “We knew she went over, It’s a one-bedroom apartment, so there’s nowhere else to go.” Hughes had her suspi- cions about what happened. “The other cat saw her,” she reckoned. That morning “he was looking out the window and acting weird. “He probably shoved her.” Ferhaps the couple’s cat Simon was feeling guilty. After all, Molly is “his little girlfriend.” Horvath searched beneath the balcony, part of which is bush and part of which is awning above cement. No Molly. Since Horvath and Hughes both had to go to work, they posted signs in the elevators advising that Molly was missing. Later in the day, Horvath got a call from a neighbor. Some children had found the kitten in the underground parking. Horvath went home, examined Molly and discov- ered a scratch on her left rear paw. Otherwise, she was purr-fect. Molly ate a meal hungrily and then kissed Simon. She’s obviously a forgiving soul. RESCUE WORKERS frequently carry out risky search and recovery procedures at all hours of the day and night on the North Shore's treacherous terrain. Should individuals rescued be forced to pay for their rescues. and if so, under what circumstances should they be billed? Derrick Humphries West Vancouver OF course they should have to pay. THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Do you think the British royal family is still relevant? Barbara Macleod North Vancouver Yes they should be charged. The rescue people could lose their lives trying to save then.