Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Glynn Brothen
TAYLOR TRIAL: “I’m going to ask you point blank: Did you kill her?”
KAMLOOPS — He travelled to Prince George alone after leaving behind his 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend who was later found dead in Kamloops. When Sgt. Todd Wiebe of Prince George RCMP found him, he asked the obvious question. “I’m going to ask you point blank: Did you kill her?” “No, I did not kill her,” Damien...
TAYLOR TRIAL: If teen was rushed to hospital after injuries, death could have been prevented, doctor says
KAMLOOPS — The injuries to a teen’s head, neck and chest were severe enough to cause her death, but the 16-year-old girl could have been saved if she had received immediate medical attention, a jury has heard. Dr. Gilles Molgat, the pathologist who performed the autopsy of CJ Fowler, testified in Kamloops Supreme Court today,...
Why not having enough money could prevent you from getting an organ transplant
LOGAN LAKE - In a matter of three weeks, a middle-aged woman from Logan Lake visited a doctor, found out she had an autoimmune disease, was told she needed a liver and could get one — for a price. Tammy Valin was told she could be put on the waitlist but first needed to prove...
TAYLOR TRIAL: Witnesses describe finding body of teen in Kamloops neighbourhood
KAMLOOPS — The walking trail by a ravine near Guerin Creek was often littered with beer cans, bottles and garbage, but three dog walkers, a hydro worker and a letter carrier noticed something out of place the morning of Dec. 5 before a 16-year-old girl’s body was found in the neighbourhood. The body was CJ...
What an El Niño winter means for the Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With autumn well underway it's hard to ignore the fact that it's only a matter of time before the snow hits, but with a strong El Niño expected this season winter could look, and feel, a little different this year. Meteorologists say the event may be a little overhyped but we could expect temperatures...
TAYLOR TRIAL: Teen and accused were ‘getting along’ hours before her death
KAMLOOPS — In the hours leading up to her death, a pregnant 16-year-old was getting along with her boyfriend and didn’t want to leave him the night before their trip from Kamloops to Terrace, a jury heard in Kamloops Supreme Court yesterday, Sept. 29. Claude Royer, a ministry of children and families worker, was among...
TAYLOR TRIAL: Teen and boyfriend ended relationship before she was killed: Step-father
KAMLOOPS — The step-father of a teenaged girl who was slain in 2012 said he was surprised to find out she broke up with her boyfriend the night she was killed since the two were ‘inseparable’ when they lived with him in Terrace. Glen Wilson, CJ Fowler’s step-father, took the stand in Kamloops Supreme Court...
UPDATE: Accused killer knew girlfriend was pregnant with his child before she was killed
KAMLOOPS — A man accused of murdering his 16-year-old girlfriend told the front desk clerk of a men's shelter in Prince George that he knew the teen was pregnant with his child before her death. Fowler's boyfriend, Damien Lawrence Taylor, 24, is charged with second-degree murder in the teen's death. The two were scheduled to...
Kamloops jail has highest number in the province for in-custody deaths
KAMLOOPS - Since August 2014 there have been four in-custody death’s at six regional provincial jails, three of which were in Kamloops according to data from the Ministry of Justice. The number went from three to four on Monday, Sept. 21 with the latest death in Kamloops but details of the case, including the inmate’s...
UPDATE: Kamloops police find missing 25-year-old
KAMLOOPS - A 25-year-old man who hasn't been in touch with his family since yesterday around noon has been found. Kamloops RCMP said Colby Stade was found in the Valleyview area near a trail behind the arena. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and is in stable condition. — This story was updated at...
Brain injury ‘seriously diverted’ life of former psych nurse to crime spree in Kamloops, Kelowna
KAMLOOPS — A former psychiatric nurse says he’s sorry for the damage he caused in a short-term crime spree, which included injuring four sheriffs when he tried to escape custody at the Kamloops courthouse last year. Jonathan Allandale Dale Phillips, 39, pleaded guilty in Kamloops Supreme Court today, Sept. 24, to possession of stolen property,...
Five years after man’s death on Shuswap Lake and still no resolution to trial
KAMLOOPS - A Shuswap houseboat crash five years ago is still making its way through Kamloops Supreme Court and today it was put over once again to another date for decision. Leon Reinbrecht faces one charge of criminal negligence causing death after he drove his speedboat into a houseboat killing driver Ken Brown in the...
UPDATE: Inmate dies at Kamloops jail; third in less than a year
KAMLOOPS - Another inmate has died at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, making it the third to occur in a year. Details surrounding the case are still being confirmed, but Dean Purdy, chair of corrections and sheriffs services component of the B.C. Government and Service Employee’s Union, confirmed the death occurred Monday night, Sept. 21....
Kamloops man pushing hard in last leg of run across Canada
KAMLOOPS - It’s been a long haul for Edward ‘Fast Eddy’ Dostaler, a Kamloops man running across Canada for the last seven months, but the last stretch will be his toughest; its a race against time. On Sept. 19, Dostaler calculated the distance left to get to Sydney, N.S., about 420 kilometres, and then learned...
TRENDING NOW: This jeopardy answer got a couple laughs but cost her $600
Sometimes if you don't know the answer and you've already made a $600 bet, why not try for a laugh? That's what Talia decided to do for her answer on Final Jeopardy. She conjured her favourite Saturday Night Live skit and got Alex Trebek to say Turd Ferguson, a name Norm MacDonald used to re-name...
Independent investigators clear Kamloops officer of excessive force accusation
KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops Mountie will not face assault-related charges after the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. determined the officer did not use excessive force when arresting a suspect who suffered an injury causing paralysis last year. During a chase between a man with an outstanding warrant and police, the suspect jumped a series of...
SNELSON: How the sentence for a Kelowna killer breaks down
IS IT 11 YEARS, SIX YEARS OR ONE YEAR? HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE ABOVE KAMLOOPS — Convicted killer Neil Snelson was arrested in 2009, sentenced yesterday to 11 years in prison and will likely be released around this time next year. Makes complete sense, right? A jury convicted him earlier this summer of the...
SNELSON TRIAL UPDATE: Kelowna killer sentenced; only 19 months left to serve
KAMLOOPS - It took two trials and nearly 22 years for the case and the jail doors to close on Jennifer Cusworth’s killer, but it will only be one year and seven months before his release. Neil George Snelson, 48, was sentenced to 11 years today, Sept. 16, in Kamloops Supreme Court. Since he was...
Acquitted Kamloops RCMP officer still awaiting internal conduct hearing
KAMLOOPS - It’s been nearly one year since his trial and five years since the event which took him to trial, yet Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Rick Brown has yet to have a conduct hearing from his employer. Brown was acquitted on a breach of trust charge in October of last year. Despite his acquittal, he...
Kamloops tyke shows ‘amazing strength’ in fight for his life
KAMLOOPS - Babies and toddlers cry for all types of reasons, but a Kamloops family is facing a worst case scenario after discovering their child was not crying because of a case of thrush, but rather something much more scary. At the beginning of September, Shantelle Araneda took 18-month-old Sawyer Jules to the doctor. Her...
ELECTION 2015: Support and anger during Harper’s Kamloops stop
KAMLOOPS - In a Kamloops warehouse filled with roughly 200 supporters and Conservative Party staffers, Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke of the economy under his government, touting the latest auditor general results from this morning as proof his government is the right one to be leading our country. The Conservative Party rally kicked off around...
Why vaccinating 71 per cent of 7-year-olds in southern Interior should have you worried
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - To prevent a measles outbreak, 95 per cent of the population is required to be vaccinated, but the province’s southern Interior isn’t meeting that requirement with only 71 per cent of seven-year-olds vaccinated between 2012 and 2014. With the latest school year comes the annual round of vaccinations and kids will bring reminders...
SNELSON TRIAL: Killer’s sentence depends on finding of sexual assault argument
KAMLOOPS —It’s been almost 22 years since the night Neil Snelson killed college student Jennifer Cusworth after a party in Kelowna in 1993 and now Cusworth's family has one week left to find out how long he'll spend in prison. The 19-year-old Cusworth was found dead in a ditch on Swamp Road in Kelowna in...
SNELSON TRIAL: Kelowna Killer to be sentenced (again) for 1993 manslaughter of college student
KAMLOOPS - A Kelowna man who killed a female party guest in 1993 is due back in court today, Sept. 10, to be sentenced for manslaughter. In June, a Kamloops jury convicted Neil George Snelson of manslaughter in the death of Jennifer Cusworth. The 19-year-old's body was found in a ditch on Kelowna's Swamp...