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JANUARY 22, 2020 | Volume 33 No. 7
WEATHER Sun and clouds High 2 C Low 1 C SNOW REPORT Sun Peaks Resort Mid-mountain: 163 cm Alpine: 183 cm Harper Mountain Total snow: 189 cm
WEDNESDAY
CORONAVIRUS IN THE U.S.
A $250,000 GIFT FOR TRU
B.C. is monitoring the situation and screening when necessary
Lawyer, developer Frank Quinn creates bursary for students
NEWS/A4
BUSINESS/A23
Accused changes stories on how woman was killed TIM PETRUK STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
HOLE LOTTA FUN TROUT FISHING
ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW
Zander Kilda gets ready to pull a trout from the cold waters of Walloper Lake during Sunday’s annual Free Family Ice Fishing Day, organized by the Kamloops Fish and Game Club, which had about 50 volunteers on hand. Dave Helmer, club treasurer, said the event attracted 331 people (including 176 kids), many of whom caught fish through the 150 holes bored through the ice. While Argo Road Maintenance cleared the parking lot of loads of snow, various businesses donated food, with attendees devouring 311 hamburgers, 221 hot dogs and 30-dozen donuts, along with untold litres of coffee and hot chocolate. To see more photos from the day, go online to kamloopsthisweek.com and click on the Community tab.
Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic material that may not be suitable for all readers. A Fraser Valley man standing trial for first-degree murder in connection with the 2016 death of a woman found under a mattress in a Kamloops hotel room told police her death was the result of rough sex gone too far. Debra Novacluse, 52, was found dead in a first-floor room at the Super 8 Motel on Hugh Allan Drive in Aberdeen on Aug. 27, 2016. David Albert Miller, now 69, was arrested days later in Ontario, about an hour west of Brockville. For a week, those involved in Miller’s B.C. Supreme Court trial have been watching and listening to recordings made by police in the hours after Miller’s arrest. In court on Monday, a videotaped interview showed Miller admitting to having caused Novacluse’s death, though he offered a number of explanations that changed under questioning from Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Mark Davidson. Miller initially denied having ever been with Novacluse in
Kamloops. He then said she had been with him, but he denied killing her. Over the course of the interview, Miller eventually admitted he killed Novacluse, wrapped her body in a sleeping bag and hid it beneath the mattress in his hotel room. Initially, Miller said the death was a result of accidental suffocation. He then said he was acting in self-defence after she attacked him. Later, he told Davidson she died following rough sex. “She wants you to do things to her,” Davidson said in the video. “You’ve already said your equipment’s not working that great. So what happened? We’ve come this far, man.” “I realized I choked her too much,” Miller replied. “It was a lot more than choking, though, right, Dave?” Davidson asked. “She started bleeding,” Miller replied, noting he then “cleaned up” and left as fast as he could. Meanwhile, the Super 8 housekeeper who found Novacluse’s body hidden beneath a mattress outlined on Tuesday what she encountered in a first-floor suite on Aug. 27, 2016. See VICTIM AND ACCUSED, A4
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