Jury selection underway for manslaughter case 14 years after man missing

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KAMLOOPS – Jury selection began today for a man accused in the death of a 48-year-old member of the Lytton First Nation band more than a decade ago.

William Robert Smith faces charges of manslaughter and interference with a dead body and awaits trial in Kamloops B.C. Supreme Court. The charges follow the death of Sandy Charlie who went missing in December 1999 in Lytton.

In an RCMP release that followed Smith’s arrest, police described Charlie as a ‘well-liked member of his community.' His remains weren't found until September 2011, reportedly in a 'concealed make-shift grave' in the Lytton area. Forensic investigators were used to identify him.

Police also reported that Charlie’s son, Sandy Nolan Harry Cleghorn, was found dead just months after Charlie went missing. His body was found on the Fraser River near Lytton on March 12, 2000 after he traveled to Lytton to look for his father.

Smith's trial is slated to begin Feb. 17.

To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494.

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