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Inspector disputes claims at inquiry that he ruled out serial killer

A former Vancouver police department inspector who’s been strongly criticized at the Robert Pickton inquiry is firing back, disputing some of the claims that have been levelled against him.

VANCOUVER — A former Vancouver police department inspector who’s been strongly criticized at the Robert Pickton inquiry is firing back, disputing some of the claims that have been levelled against him.

Insp. Fred Biddlecombe was head of the major crimes unit in the late 1990s as police investigated reports of missing sex workers from the Downtown Eastside.

Three witnesses, including a former detective, have criticized Biddlecombe, who has been accused of being antagonistic and of rejecting the theory that a serial killer was murdering sex workers.

But Biddlecombe’s lawyer, David Neave, suggests his client never ruled out the serial killer theory and took steps to ensure the missing women cases were investigated.

Neave confronted Kim Rossmo, a former geographical profiler, about Rossmo’s claims that Biddlecombe was dismissive and refused to consider the theory that a serial killer was at work in the Downtown Eastside.

Neave pointed to a newspaper article in early 1999 in which Biddlecombe appears to have told a reporter he hadn’t ruled out the possibility of a serial killer, and Neave also noted Biddlecombe assigned several investigators to the missing women file that spring.