Humans remains recently found in Prince George, B.C., have been connected to the 1990 murder of Donna Charlie.
The remains were discovered last month by a member of the public on Connaught Hill, prompting an RCMP investigation into the case that’s more than 30 years old.
“With the assistance of the B.C. Coroners Service, the RCMP is now in a position to publicly confirm that the human remains located are those of Donna Charlie,” Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said in a Wednesday news release.
“Though this initial investigation resulted in a conviction, it remained an open file with our Missing Persons Unit until such time as the last of the remains were located.”
Jerry Smaaslet of Fort Ware, B.C. was convicted of second-degree murder in her death in 1992, but on appeal, the charge was changed to manslaughter in 1995, Cooper told Global News.
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Charlie was an Indigenous woman — one of unknown thousands who fall under the banner of “MMIWG2S,” which stands for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada.
Her next of kin has been notified, said police.
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