Expert Witness in Murder Trial Found Deceased in Vancouver’s Southlands Neighbourhood

A health care worker is seen outside the Emergency Department of the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver on March 30, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

The remains of a doctor who was serving as an expert witness in an ongoing murder trial have been located in Vancouver’s Southlands neighbourhood district in British Columbia.

An inquiry was opened into the disappearance of Dr. Tracy Pickett, 55, on Sept. 27 after her family reported her missing from her home in Dunbar.

Officers were looking for her in the Pacific Spirit Regional Park in the Southlands suburb when they came across her body on the evening of Sept. 28.

Police said there is no public safety threat and it doesn’t appear that Dr. Pickett’s death was suspicious. Officials have refrained from providing any additional information regarding the incident, and the B.C. Coroners Service will be looking into the cause of death.

“It’s a tremendous shock. I can tell you that Tracy was one of those people who, when she'd show up for a shift, she would always, like, have a positive impact on the people around her,” Dr. Afshin Khazei, a colleague and friend of Dr. Pickett, told CTV News.

Dr. Pickett was an expert in both clinical forensic medicine and emergency medicine. She was the B.C. Women’s Hospital Sexual Assault Centre’s medical director in addition to working as an emergency physician at Vancouver General Hospital.

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“Despite her accomplishments, she was incredibly humble, kind, thoughtful, and caring. And so when you would work with her, you would feel that she would value you as a person. She was very approachable. And whether you are a first-year medical student or, you know, a colleague, she would treat everybody the same,” said Dr. Khazei.

She was one of only a handful of Canadian physicians who practised both forensic medicine and emergency medicine, according to Dr. Khazei.

Dr. Pickett was giving testimony in a B.C. murder trial in the days before she vanished.

Her name has gained recent prominence in the high-profile first-degree murder trial involving Ibrahim Ali. Dr. Pickett served as an expert witness, providing testimony on the injuries suffered by a 13-year-old girl discovered deceased in a Burnaby park in July 2017.

“Many of us have had to testify in court for a variety of circumstances, which adds a significant burden and layer of complexity and strain to your personal life,” said Dr. Josh Greggain, president of Doctors of B.C., according to CTV.

The B.C. Coroner Service is currently conducting an investigation, and the RCMP declined to comment on whether Dr. Pickett’s death was a suicide.