Murder charge dropped after suspect dies

The Crown is no longer pursuing a charge in a Vernon murder case because the suspect is no longer alive.

Richard William Fairgrieve was charged with second degree murder in the death of 50-year-old Willy Bartz who was found dead in a Vernon apartment in June 2017.

In June 2023, Fairgrieve was found unfit to stand trial after suffering several strokes while in custody awaiting trial.

The BC Review Board changed course last year, suggesting Fairgrieve may have been well enough to face the charge.

Fairgrieve was ordered to undergo a fitness assessment in December 2023 which was to have been completed this spring.

In B.C. Supreme Court in Vernon Monday, March 4, Crown lawyer Margaret Cissell filed an abatement application before Justice Steven Wilson.

“Mr. Fairgrieve is now deceased. The date of death was Feb. 17, 2024,” Cissell told the judge.

“The matter will be abated,” Justice Wilson said. “All [court] dates will be vacated.”

The Crown did not provide details, but it’s believed Fairgrieve died while in custody at a psychiatric hospital in the Lower Mainland. He was born in 1973.

Fairgrieve was originally charged with Bartz’s murder in August 2019.

A co-accused, Jacqueline Nicole Leavins, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in 2020 and was given a 10-year prison sentence.