Massage parlour site of Kitsilano slaying, police say

A woman found dead behind an apartment in Vancouver's Kitsilano area Monday was killed in a unit of the building used as a massage parlour, police said Thursday.

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Tim Fanning said no one was living in the unit in the building at 1450 Chestnut Street, which is near the foot of the Burrard Street Bridge.

The dead woman, identified by police as 33-year-old Nicole Parisien, was nicknamed Pickles.

"You've got to be a sick person to hurt her. She was always laughing,'' said Tanya Beadle, a cousin of Parisien.

Andrew William Evans, 25, of Vancouver,was arrested Wednesday night and charged with second-degree murder in Parisien's death. He is being held in custody and will appear in Vancouver provincial court on Sept. 5.

Police said Parisien was working as a masseuse in the apartment and Evans had been a customer. Fanning said she was killed in the suite but wouldn't provide any further details.

Evans had gone to Calgary, where he turned himself in to police on Tuesday, Fanning said.

"Evans was brought back to Vancouver yesterday [Wednesday] by homicide detectives and has been co-operative in the investigation," Fanning said.

Evans was not known to police before this investigation and he did not know the victim prior to Monday, Fanning said.

The department's vice squad is investigating whether the massage parlour was being operated as bawdy house, he said.