Brenda Wilson is both hoping for a resolution to her sister's unsolved murder and fearful of what that resolution might mean.
Ramona Wilson went missing in June of 1994 and her body was discovered more than a year later close to Yelich Road near Smithers. It's one of the 18 Highway of Tears murders that are part of the RCMP's E-Pana investigation.
Police announced Tuesday they believe Bobby Jack Fowler killed at least one of those women and they strongly suspect him in two other cases. Although they've yet to link him to Ramona's case, they haven't ruled him out as a suspect either.
"Either way nobody wins, whether you find out the truth or not you still have to deal with the facts of how things happened, how things played out and how the murder happened," Brenda said. "I'm not looking forward to that part of it. But I am looking forward to finding answers."
Brenda said the news of one case being solved brought tears to her eyes as she remembered her sister. When she learned of Fowler's history of violent sexual assaults, she was both sad and angry.
"I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep for the next couple of weeks, or even the next couple of years, just thinking about the terrible things these women went through and how they died," Brenda said. "I just don't want to think about that about my sister, but I know some day the truth is going to come out and we're going to have to face it. I'm just hoping I can get through it."
Fowler had a lengthy criminal history in the United States and died in prison in 2006 while serving a 16-year sentence for kidnapping, attempted rape, sexual abuse, coercion, assault and menacing. In addition to the ongoing investigation in B.C., police in Oregon are looking into if he was responsible for murders in that state. Police in Texas also believed he killed a person there.
RCMP said fresh DNA evidence prove he killed Colleen MacMillen in 1974 and they strongly suspect he killed Pamela Darlington and Gale Weys in 1973. They are open to the possibility he could be responsible for up to seven other unsolved cases, which began in 1969.
Brenda said there are some similarities between her sister's case and MacMillen's in terms of where Ramona's body was found in relation to the highway. However she said investigators haven't provided her family with too many specific details of the investigation into her sister's death.
"They're trying to cover all their bases that the information is safe until they need to use it," she said.
Brenda said she's happy for the MacMillen family, who now have a semblance of closure.
"I was quite ecstatic for the family that did get answers on their loved one, that they did find her killer," she said. "Unfortunately we're still not sure if this same person is my sister's killer."
