Two years later, elderly Chilliwack man who murdered neighbours remains out on bail preparing insanity defence

Some residents of townhouse complex understandably unsettled living next to man who killed his neighbours in 2023 in trailer park, allegedly over a small dog

As the federal and provincial governments consider legislation to alter bail laws for violent criminals, some neighbours in a Chilliwack townhouse complex are on edge knowing a man who murdered his neighbours in a trailer park has been living there ever since the killings and still doesn’t face trial for seven more months.

Some residents living near 83-year-old Robert Amede Freeman are understandably unsettled to be so close to a man who doesn’t deny murdering his next-door neighbours John Kavaloff and Valerie Smith, allegedly over a small dog, and that he is entering an insanity defence.

On Sept. 13, 2023, Freeman came out of his home at the Baker Trails Trailer Park in the Chilliwack River Valley with a rifle, walked toward Kavaloff who was in his driveway next door talking to a friend. The friend fled, then Freeman shot and killed Kavaloff. He then killed Kavaloff’s wife Valerie Smith.

Incidentally, that friend who would have been a witness in the case, Gary Popoff, died in a hang-gliding accident a year-and-a-half after the murders near Salmo, B.C.

Kavaloff and Smith’s son Travis Finnigan has expressed his frustration at how slow the court process has been and that Freeman was released on bail eight days after his arrest.

"My parents were completely innocent, loving people – cherished grandparents – whose lives were tragically cut short by a mentally unstable [neighbour], all because of a grudge over their beloved Yorkie."

Since late September 2023, Freeman has been living in the townhouse with his son as part of release conditions on bail. Neighbours expressed concern to police that the son is a hunter and might have firearms, but were told there are no firearms in the house. Freeman had apparently complained about noise made by an adjacent resident. One neighbour spoke with this reporter, but agreed that they didn’t want to aggravate the situation by being named or quoted, let alone locating the complex.

For many months Freeman was seen coming and going often in his pickup truck. Since a visit by police, he apparently leaves less often.

Seemingly endless delays

Kavaloff and Smith’s son Travis Finnigan has been exasperated how long the case has taken to get to trial. A 20-day jury trial was scheduled to start November 2025, but in September – the 30th appearance in B.C. Supreme Court – Finnigan learned the trial will be delayed until May 2026.

Freeman has high-profile lawyer Simon Buck representing him. Buck is also representing Surrey Six killer Cody Haevischer who is amid a lengthy appeal of his first-degree murder conviction.

Buck and the defence team do not deny the essential elements of the case, namely, that he shot and killed his neighbours John Kavaloff and Valerie Smith. They will argue that Freeman should be found to be not criminally responsible due to mental defect (NCR), formerly known as the insanity defence.

Delays from Crown counsel preparing a response to the NCR argument along with Buck’s busy schedule led to the latter applying to have the trial dates moved from November 2025 to May 2026. The NCR twist also meant the length of time set aside in November and December for trial would likely not have been long enough anyway.

Because the delay is essentially caused by Freeman’s counsel, defence waived the delay, meaning the six extra months prior to trial do not count towards the Jordan timeline. Jordan is the precedent-setting decision giving concrete numbers to section 11(b) of the Charter, which affords an accused a right to trial in a “reasonable time.” That reasonable time set by the Jordan decision is 19 months in provincial court, 30 months in Supreme court from the time charges are laid to resolution in a case. May 2026 will be approximately 32 months.

Freeman’s case was in B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack on Monday (Oct. 27, 2025) to schedule a case-management conference on Jan. 14. A case management conference is to set a procedural timetable for the case. It's usually referred to as a pre-trial conference.

Bail changes

The same day Freeman appeared in court his week – which was two years, one month and five days after he was released on bail and seven months before scheduled trial – Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, was joined by B.C. Premier David Eby and Attorney General Niki Sharma in Victoria to announce the new federal Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, created, they said in messaging this week, to address the rise in extortions in the province and to eliminate house arrest for many sexual offences.

“Ensuring basic respect for community standards and keeping violent offenders away from people they would hurt or kill are the basic functions of the criminal law,” Premier Eby said in a news release. “We’ve not been seeing these results under the current criminal law, which is why we’ve been pressing hard for change. This new bill is excellent news. I’m glad the new Prime Minister has prioritized the work needed to restore public confidence in our criminal justice system.”

With the focus on extortion and sexual offences in the public messaging from the federal and provincial governments, it’s unclear how the new legislation would or could affect a case such as Freeman’s second-degree murder charges.

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Paul J. Henderson
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