#7 - Snelson guilty again

Castanet is counting down the top stories of 2015, today is No. 7 – Neil Snelson was convicted and sentenced once again in the fatal beating of Jennifer Cusworth. We'll count down the top 10 to Dec. 31 and feature our newsmaker of the year on Jan. 1.

The British Columbia court system has now determined, twice, that Neil Snelson is the man that killed 19-year-old Jennifer Cusworth.

Not many Kelownians can forget the tragic news story – Cusworth was strangled, beaten to death and left in a ditch near Kelowna in October 1993.

She was last seen at a house party on Richter Street on the morning of Oct. 16, 1993.

Her body was discovered in a ditch on Swamp Road in the Mission the following morning.

For more than 16 years the horrific crime went unsolved until Snelson was arrested and charged with murder in 2009. At that time police said DNA evidence revealed he had sex with Cusworth the night she died.

Shortly after his arrest, Cusworth's parents expressed relief that someone had been charged.

“The fact that he's been arrested and charged is a great relief to us, but we know this is not finished yet. Until this is actually finished, Jean and I will never stop searching, never stop talking to the police, will never stop trying to find out what really happened,” said her father Terry Cusworth in 2009.

When Snelson was first arrested, he was married, a father of four, a musician and an active member of his church.

There was speculation at the time that lyrics to one of his songs, Waiting for an Angel, were a reference to the murder.

He was held in custody and two years later, in 2011, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But, Snelson and his legal team fought the verdict and he was awarded an appeal.

He was released on bail in June 2014 as he awaited the second trial, reportedly living with a family member in Lake Country.

This time around Snelson faced a jury in Kamloops Supreme Court, as it was felt a jury in Kelowna would have bias.

A new B.C. Supreme Court jury found him guilty once again and he was sentenced in September, but this time he was only sentenced to 11 years.

Justice Dev Dley said the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Cusworth was sexually assaulted by Snelson before she died, and without that, a lesser sentence in the range of 10 to 12 years was in order.

Given credit for time served, Snelson would only serve an additional 19 months behind bars.

Cusworth's friends and family were furious.

"He was found guilty in two trials and gets a year?" Terry Cusworth, told reporters outside the courthouse.

The victim's mother, Jean Cusworth, called the sentence "unbelievable”.

"We don't have a justice system," she said. "We have a legal system and it's badly flawed."

Snelson is currently in custody and is set to be released in 2017.

His lawyer said he is now estranged from three of his four children and his wife left him following the first conviction.

To this day, Snelson continues to deny responsibility for Cusworth's death.  

Come back tomorrow to read No. 6 in our top 10 countdown. Read all the stories as they're posted on our Top Stories of 2015 page.