It was a short day at court Thursday for the 12 jurors at the Neil Snelson murder trial in Kelowna.
There were just two witnesses on the stand, an RCMP cold case investigator and Snelson’s ex-wife.
It seems Snelson was very careful during the spring of 2009 to not leave any of his DNA where police might recover it.
That’s when Sgt. Ian MacPherson, the prime investigator in the Jennifer Cusworth cold case, was trying to obtain a so called cast-off sample of Snelson’s DNA.
Police tailed Snelson to a fast food restaurant and watched as Snelson put all his family’s used utensils and napkins into a garbage bin.
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But he then took the items he used outside and locked them in his vehicle.
The police officer testified Snelson knew he was being watched, saying when he stopped at a traffic light next to Snelson’s vehicle, the accused killer leaned over and mouthed profanities.
The undercover cop then realized their surveillance had been compromised.
Police later got Snelson’s DNA through a court order.
Katherin Oystryk, Snelson’s ex-wife, also testified Thursday.
She was married to Snelson in 1993 when Cusworth was murdered and her body dumped into a lane-side ditch on Swamp Road.
Oystryk told the jury Snelson was familiar with the secluded back road, having showed her how it was a short cut to the Mission area of Kelowna.
She also testified that on the morning Cusworth is believed to have been murdered, she was sleeping when her husband came home after a night of partying.
She says there was nothing unusual about Snelson’s behaviour that morning.
“All I’m hoping for is justice for Jennifer. And I feel terrible for Jennifer’s family and very sad for the family of the accused,” Oystryk said. “They have been dragged through this mess and all I want is for the truth to come out.”
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