A man accused of murdering a woman in Vancouver will no longer face a charge of sexual assault in connection to a case in Vernon.
A stay of proceedings was directed onto the file of William Victor Schneider, born in 1967.
“A stay of proceedings was directed on Mr. Schneider’s sexual assault file because, based on review of the all the materials available, the prosecutor concluded that the charge approval standard could no longer be met,” said Alisia Adams, acting communications counsel with the Ministry of Attorney General’s B.C. Prosecution Service.
Schneider was charged with a sexual assault in Vernon on Sept. 28, 2016, the same day he was arrested in Vernon in connection with the discovery of the body of Natsumi Kogawa, 30, in Vancouver.
Kogawa had been reported missing on Sept. 12, 2016. Her body was found 16 days later on the property of a Davie Street mansion in downtown Vancouver near Nicola Street. She had last been seen in Burnaby on Sept. 8.
Court records in Vancouver show Schneider is charged with murder and offering an indignity to human remains. The offence date is listed as Sept. 8, 2016.
Schneider, who is believed to be from the Vernon area, remains in custody on those charges. A preliminary inquiry on that matter remains scheduled to start on Oct. 16 in Vancouver.
