Woman charged with murder after death at Vernon motel released on bail

A 28-year-old woman charged with the second-degree murder of Alishia Lemp, who was found dead in a Vernon motel room in February 2020, has been granted bail.

Today, June 28, at the Vernon Courthouse Justice Steven Wilson granted Paige Howse bail, on the condition she will remain in a residential treatment centre.

Howse was charged in September 2021 for the second-degree murder of Alishia Lemp following an 18-month investigation. Lemp was found dead in a room at the Best Value Inn and Suites in Vernon in February 2020.

Howse has a criminal record in B.C. for mischief, break and enter and breaching court orders, but not for any violent offences. The hand full of charges all took place after Lemp's body was found.

Vernon North Okanagan RCMP has said little about the case and all details from today's bail hearing are covered under a court-ordered publication ban.

Police arrested Howse in September 2021 in Surrey.

"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," Vernon North Okanagan RCMP Cpl. David Hoekstra said in a release following the arrest.

Early this month, Howse elected to be tried by judge and jury. No date has yet been set for the trial.

Justice Wilson ordered Howse released but only into the care of a residential addiction treatment centre in the Lower Mainland. She will also be fitted with an electronic monitoring device.

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