Murder charge laid in suspicious death at Vernon hotel

A woman has been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an investigation in Vernon which spanned 18 months.

Paige Courtney Howse, 28, is facing a second-degree charge in the death of Alishia Lemp, who was found dead in a Vernon hotel room in February 2020.

The B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charge on Sept. 24, according to a Vernon North Okanagan RCMP news release.

"For the past 18 months, our investigative team has worked tirelessly, through several jurisdictions, to bring the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms. Lemp’s death to this point," Cpl. David Hoekstra of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP Serious Crimes Unit said in the release.

Howse was arrested in Surrey by the Vernon RCMP Serious Crime Unit and remained in custody until her court appearance today, Sept. 28.

On Feb. 28, 2020, Vernon RCMP responded to a Vernon hotel room after receiving a report of a "sudden death."

At the time, police said the General Investigative Section had taken over the investigation with help from a forensic team.

They treated the death as "suspicious in nature," but have released no further information since February 2020.

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