Kelowna man admits he killed his roommate

A Kelowna, B.C., man admitted Tuesday that he killed his roommate nearly three years ago.

Lorence Williams, 43, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter death of Thomas Chadwick on May 30, 2021, at 3451 Sexsmith Rd. The sudden admission put an end to a second-degree murder trial that had gone on for the better part of four weeks, the BC Prosecution Service confirmed.

“A pre-sentence report was ordered by the court,” a prosecution service representative said. “The sentencing hearing is likely to be held in June.”

Williams is scheduled to appear back in court on Wednesday, to potentially firm up dates.

Williams was being evicted from his home in May 2021 when an increasingly fraught relationship with his roommates turned fatal, a jury in his second-degree murder trial was told Monday.

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During opening remarks of the trial, Crown counsel Trevor Sicotte told jurors that he would present evidence that supported the argument that Williams had been renting a basement bedroom in a home on Sexsmith Road for several months when he was evicted by the landlord, Cornel Fisher.

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Fisher wanted to move his girlfriend in, and that’s when things started to go sour.

According to Sicotte, Williams’ relationship with Fisher as well as roommate Chadwick deteriorated rapidly, culminating in Chadwick’s death.

Sicotte told jurors that Williams and Chadwick got into a fight the night of the killing and he would present evidence that Chadwick was bludgeoned with a piece of wood used for decorative edging.

He also told jurors he intended to prove that Williams then went about smashing windows of nearby vehicles.

In the weeks that followed, a variety of police gave testimony, notably, one police officer who recorded an interview with Williams in which he says, “I’ve committed a murder.”

Const. Maro Kennedy was asked by Williams’ defence lawyer Michael Patterson why he took that statement without qualifying “where” and “when” the murder may have occurred.

Ahead of sentencing, an agreed-upon account of the incident will be revealed to the court.