Wade Cudmore is pictured in a 2019 photo from his Facebook page.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK

The high-profile trial of a local man facing two counts of first-degree murder in relation to the killing of two brothers from Kamloops back in 2021 in Naramata continued Friday in front of a jury in Vancouver.

Wade William Cudmore, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Carlo and Erick Fryer, both from Kamloops. Their bodies were found by hikers in a remote area near Naramata in May of 2021.

Cudmore, who has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the bodies were found, appeared in B.C. Supreme Court on June 3, where he pleaded not guilty at the beginning of his trial.

Justice Brenda Brown started the trial acknowledging a request for a change of venue had been successful and the trial would be heard in Vancouver. The criminal case started in Penticton and was then moved to Kelowna, before another change of venue application was presented to the court. Media reports confirmed the jury will not be sequestered during the trial, but will be once the trial concludes for jury deliberations.

Police suggested the killings were related to the broader B.C. drug trade.

READ MORE: Two men from Lower Mainland charged in 2021 Naramata murder

The trial, which was moved to Vancouver for security reasons, is scheduled to run until the end of August.

It got underway in February with pre-trial applications in a voir dire (trial within a trial) and was back in court a few days later for an application regarding expert qualifications, according to Damienne Darby, spokesperson for the BC Prosecution Service.

Less than a month after the bodies of the Fryer brothers were found, Cudmore’s mother, Kathy Richardson, was found dead in her Naramata home. The 57-year-old was found dead in her residence along 3 Street on June 9, 2021.

Her son was arrested and charged with murder the following day.

At the time, RCMP said officers were visiting her home that day, seeking information on a nearby double killing, when her body was discovered just before 5 p.m.

Charges were laid against Ekene Dillichuwu Anigbo and Jalen Nimai Falk in Richardson’s death. Each is facing one count of first-degree murder in her death.

Several months ago, Anigbo was charged with stabbing a fellow prisoner at Ontario’s Millhaven Institution.

Anigbo was charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and carrying a concealed weapon. Anigbo is serving a 33-month sentence handed down in September 2022 after he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and breach of a court order a year earlier.

He was arrested on Oct. 7, 2021, inside the lobby of a Richmond hotel with two bags. One contained a P80 9 mm semi-automatic handgun with an illegal extended magazine containing 30 rounds. The second contained a black Kel Tec semi-automatic rifle with a folding stock.

Anigbo, formerly aligned with the Red Scorpion gang, but now considered independent, was then charged in April 2023 with the first-degree murder of Richardson.

When charges against Anigbo and co-accused Jalen Falk were laid, police said they believed the Naramata businessperson was killed as retaliation because her son, Cudmore, was involved in the B.C. gang conflict.

No trial date has been set for Anigbo and Falk in the Richardson killing.

Cudmore’s co-accused, Anthony Graham, remains at large and was the subject of a missing-person bulletin issued in November 2021 by the RCMP in his hometown of Prince George.

Mounties previously described all three murders – the Fryer brothers and Richardson – as being linked “to gang and drug activities, with alleged criminal activities not limited to Naramata, but other areas of B. C., including Northern B.C. and the Lower Mainland.”

Following his arrest, Cudmore was denied bail and has been behind bars since his arrest more than three years ago.

Cudmore is being represented by defence counsel Jordan Watt.

All information and evidence discussed in the voir dire is barred from publication under a court-ordered ban to ensure it does not affect the jury.

“Kathy’s murder has been devastating for her family, friends and the entire community of Naramata,” said Penticton RCMP Supt. Brian Hunter.

“There have be so many unanswered questions and moments of angst over the past two years. The Penticton RCMP has made these cases one of our top priorities and have dedicated many resources into putting the pieces together.”

Anigbo’s mugshot appeared in the media in May 2021 warning the public he was involved in the ongoing gang war and would pose a danger to the public.

A few days later on May 21, 2021, B.C.’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team were conducting proactive enforcement patrols in the Richmond area when they noticed a male and female exiting a local establishment.

Officers recognized the male as Anigbo and he was placed under arrest.

The pair were detained for investigation when officers located a loaded handgun. Both were arrested for firearms related offences and later released pending further investigation.

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald.

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