Ashley Simpson posted this photo of herself on Facebook on April 11, 2016, just a couple weeks before she disappeared.
Image Credit: Facebook
October 20, 2022 - 2:25 PM
The boyfriend accused of killing missing Ontario woman Ashley Simpson will likely stand trial next year.
Today, Oct. 20, at the Salmon Arm courthouse a preliminary inquiry wrapped up, with the Provincial Court Judge George Leven deciding that there is enough evidence for the case to continue to trial.
Derek Lee Matthew Favell, born 1982, was ordered to stand trial on a charge of second-degree murder. The trial will likely take place sometime in 2023.
A preliminary inquiry is a formality to access whether a case can go to trial. All details from the court proceedings are covered under a publication ban.
READ MORE: 'I want to look him in the eye:' Ashley Simpson's mother now waiting for justice
Ashley Simpson was 32 years old when she went missing from a property on Yankee Flats Road, near Enderby in 2016.
Simpson and Favell were living at the property at the time.
The body of Simpson was discovered more than five years after she disappeared in a wilderness area outside Salmon Arm in November 2021.
Days later Favell was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
A blog post containing an interview with Favell from 2017 said he'd refused to take a lie-detector test following Simpson's disappearance.
The post said during the interview, "Derek bounced from feelings of guilt and remorse to self-pity."
Simpson is one of several women to have gone missing from the area around that time, including Caitlin Potts, Deanna Wertz and Nicole Bell.
RCMP have said there is no connection between Simpson's case and the other missing women in the area.
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