DEADLY DEALING

City Man Charged in Slaying of B.C. Cocaine Seller

An Edmonton man has been charged with first-degree murder after a Vancouver
woman running a cocaine and heroin "dial-a-doper" business was found slain
and dumped in a river, say Vancouver police.

"It's definitely drug-related," Vancouver police department spokesman Sarah
Bloor said yesterday.

Bloor said the victim was a drug dealer, a dial-a-doper, and the suspect
was allegedly a customer.

Vancouver major crime investigators arrested a 26-year-old Edmonton man a
week ago in connection with the death of Kim-Dung Doan, a cocaine and
heroin dealer, said Bloor.

Police were searching for Doan and her missing car - a brown 1997 Toyota
Corolla, with a B.C. plate 175 BAB - after the Vancouver woman disappeared
last month, Bloor said.

"She's believed to have died somewhere around Sept. 2. She was reported
missing to the Vancouver police on Sept. 3, and her vehicle was then
located Sept. 7 in Edmonton."

Cops launched a murder investigation after Doan's body was found Sept. 15
in the Birkenhead River, near Pemberton, B.C., located just north of Whistler.

"The report at the time is that there was a passer-by who saw a body in the
water and then police were notified," said Bloor.

An autopsy has been conducted, but police aren't releasing the results.
Officers still haven't identified a crime scene, Bloor said.

"Certainly, she met with foul play," Bloor said, adding the alleged drug
relationship played a role in her death.

It was the seizure of Doan's car in Edmonton during a routine traffic stop
that later led police to a suspect who'd been living in Vancouver until
recently, Bloor said.

Police believe the man came to Edmonton because he has friends and family
living here, said Bloor.

"Certainly, it's a home base for him, so he felt comfortable going back to
Edmonton."

And police may be hunting for more Edmonton suspects, depending on the
results of forensics testing that Edmonton cops are conducting on Doan's
car, she added.

"It will be a matter of determining where those parties of interest are from."

Cops believe someone drove the car to Edmonton from Vancouver sometime
between Sept. 2 and 7, she said.

"We're looking for anybody who may have seen the vehicle or may have
witnessed individuals inside that vehicle.

"It travelled from Vancouver all the way to Edmonton, and may have been in
Edmonton for a few days."

Anyone with information about Doan's death or her Toyota Corolla is asked
to call Crime Stoppers, Edmonton police, or Vancouver's homicide squad, at
(604) Peter Levi Billings, 26, has been charged with first-degree murder.