Hockey mom viciously attacked at Surrey ice rink dies in hospital

The 53-year old woman who was viciously attacked outside a Surrey ice rink passed away in hospital on Tuesday morning with her family at her side.

Julie Paskall was picking up her son from officiating a hockey tournament at Newton Arena on Sunday evening. The unprovoked attack may have been part of a purse robbery.

She was on life support and was not expected to survive her injuries, leaving behind her husband and three children.

Earlier in the day, family relative Randy Paskall posted the following farewell message on Facebook:

Off to say a last goodbye to a friend and family member of 35 years. One who taught me much in the rules of life, made me a better person, picked me up when I was down, showed me a better road, and was what a person/friend/parent/mother/daughter/wife/role model should strive to be in this thing called life.

Nothing can bring her back, it will never be the same without her, no matter what happens after this, let us weep but not lose strength or most of all WHO we are.

My message to you my friends, is to keep your heads up, this is no longer the world we grew up in. Stay vigilant. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

Paskall’s death is Surrey’s 25th homicide of 2013. The municipality broke its previous murder record of 22 in November.

This was also the second time a woman was attacked in the area last month. It follows another attack on December 16 when a woman was assaulted after exiting a bus just a few hundred metres away from the ice rink.

With the suspect still at large, RCMP and Surrey mayor Dianne Watts are continuing to ask the public to be extra vigilant.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is asking anyone with information or who was in the area of the Newton Arena, Newton bus loop and the Newton Wave pool, between 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., on December 29 and may have seen any suspicious activities, persons, or vehicle to please call the IHIT Tip line at 1-877-551-4448 by email at ihittipline[at]rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

If you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip on their website at Solvecrime.ca.