Mounties in Prince George, BC, say human remains found in a park in the city in October have been identified as those of a woman who was killed more than 30 years ago. Police and the BC Coroner’s Service have identified the remains – which were found by a member of the public in Connaught Hill in October – as those of Donna Charlie, according to a Prince George RCMP press release. Charlie was killed in 1990, and a jury convicted her then-boyfriend Gerald Schmaaslet of second-degree murder. The BC Court of Appeal later overturned that conviction and ordered a new trial, at which point Smaaslet pleaded guilty to manslaughter, according to court documents. “Although this initial investigation resulted in a conviction, it remained an open file with our Missing Persons Unit until the last of the remains were located,” said Cpl. Jennifer Cooper in traffic. Police did not share additional details about the case, saying only that Charlie’s family had been notified of the discovery of her remains.
HOW DONNA CHARLIE DIED
More information about Charlie’s death can be found in a 2007 court decision against Schmaaslet, in which he was declared a dangerous offender and sentenced to “imprisonment in the penitentiary for an indefinite period.” According to the court order, Charlie was reported missing by her sister in September 1990. She was last seen leaving Ingenika, BC, with Smaaslet on August 30, 1990. Court documents show that Smaaslet and Charlie checked into the Sportsman Hotel in Prince George on Aug. 31, 1990. She was last seen alive on Sept. 2, 1990, when the hotel manager “observed that their room had sustained significant damage and that Ms. Charlie had a bloody face,” according to the ruling. On September 3, Smaaslet told hotel staff that he did not want to be disturbed, and on September 4 he checked out. “The next day, the cleaning staff found a horrible stench in the room and bloodstains on the walls, floor, chair, bedding and the bathroom,” the court ruling said. “There was a head-sized hole with hair and blood in the ceramic tiles around the tub and the faucets and shower rod were broken.” Court documents show Schmaaslet hid Charlie’s body in bushes behind the hotel until Sept. 7, when he and a nephew disposed of it. “They dug a shallow grave in Ingledew Park opposite the hotel,” the ruling said. “As they dragged her decomposing body over the grave, her head was severed. They put the head in a white bucket they found in a nearby block of flats and buried it near Connaught Park.” Although Charlie’s body was found in 1991, her head had not been recovered since the 2007 ruling. “Due to the advanced state of decomposition and the missing head, it was not possible to determine the cause of death,” the ruling said.
