After five days of the suspect remaining at large, a Sicamous man has been charged with the murder of 66-year-old Jo Ann Jackson.
In a June 24 media release, the RCMP announced that Scott Keith McDonald, 37, was "arrested without incident" on a second degree murder charge approved by the BC Prosecution Service.
"The securing of charge approval was the culmination of the tireless efforts involving investigators from the Southeast District Major Crime Unit, BC RCMP Forensic Identification Services, Support Services, the Sicamous RCMP and Salmon Arm RCMP," senior investigating officer Insp. Brent Novakoski said in the June 26 media release.
The investigation had been ongoing since June 19 when the Sicamous detachment responded just before 5 a.m. to a report of an unresponsive female in a driveway at a mobile home park at 1707 Hillier Road. When officers arrived, paramedics were administering medical assistance to the woman. Despite their efforts, Jackson was declared dead and a male suspect arrested at the scene.
The Major Crime Unit was called in to lead the investigation and on June 20, the suspect was released from custody "on police issued undertaking for manslaughter with several preventative conditions, including to not return to the mobile home park," senior media relations officer Staff Sgt. Kris Clark explained in the release.
McDonald has been detained in provincial court and will be held in custody pending an application for a bail hearing in supreme court. His next appearance is scheduled for provincial court in Salmon Arm on July 2 at 9 a.m.
