Two convicted murderers, including Dean Wiwchar, charged after attempted escape from Surrey pretrial centre

Two convicted murderers, including noted gangland hit man Dean Wiwchar, have been charged after correctional staff say they tried to flee the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre on Dec. 7. Surrey Police Service said the attempted escape was observed by officers in the facility’s exercise yard.

Both men were charged on Tuesday and remain in custody. They are serving existing sentences and will face new court dates related to the escape attempt.

In a news release, Surrey Police Service said correctional officers observed the men attempting to escape from the exercise yard at Surrey Pretrial Services Centre on Dec. 7. The two were identified as 40-year-old Dean Wiwchar and 34-year-old Harry Christensen.

Both men were formally charged with attempting to escape and remain in custody. They continue to serve the sentences imposed for their earlier convictions while they await scheduling of new court appearances related to the alleged escape.

Wiwchar was one of four men convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the 2012 shooting of John Raposo on the patio of the Sicilian Sidewalk Café in Toronto. The attack occurred as soccer fans gathered to watch a Euro Cup match. Prosecutors in that trial argued Wiwchar arranged the killing and also carried it out; the four were convicted of first-degree murder and received life sentences.

Separately in B.C., Wiwchar pleaded guilty last year to two counts of conspiracy to commit murder tied to a 2012 killing in the lobby of Vancouver’s Sheraton Wall Centre and to a plot to kill a second person. The B.C. Prosecution Service said he was sentenced on Dec. 5 to concurrent terms of 20 years and 18 years for those offences. The court imposed a lifetime firearms ban, a DNA order, a no-contact order and a forfeiture order.

Christensen pleaded guilty last March to second-degree murder in the shooting of Kyle Cromarty in Chilliwack on Oct. 4, 2018. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Warren B. Milman, delivering oral reasons for sentencing, said Christensen shot Cromarty twice from behind, describing the attack as execution-style. One shot proved fatal.

Court documents state Christensen intended to kill Cromarty but did not know him. He evaded capture for roughly four years and was eventually linked to the weapon after DNA traces were found. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility to apply for parole for 13 and a half years.

Both men will face new court proceedings related to the escape charges. They remain in custody under their existing orders while the justice process schedules those dates. Additional details about the escape attempt and any related evidence were not released in the Surrey Police Service statement.

Incidents of attempted escapes from correctional facilities typically prompt internal reviews by corrections authorities and may lead to disciplinary or security changes at the facility. Any such actions in this case would fall to Correctional Service officials and the courts to address as the new charges proceed.

The attempted escape comes amid a long-running criminal file for Wiwchar and separate serious convictions for Christensen. Both men are serving lengthy terms for killings that drew provincial and national attention.

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on Jan. 29, 2026. Torontoer will update this story when court dates are set or additional information becomes available.