High-profile Naramata murder case slowly moves forward in court – Penticton News

Photo: RCMP

Ekene Anigbo is one of two people accused of murdering a Naramata woman in June 2021.

More than 18 months after the first arrest of two accused killers, the high-profile Naramata murder case is slowly making its way through a Kelowna court.

Ekene Anigbo and Jalen Falk, both 25 years old arrested in April 2023 for the murder of 57-year-old Kathleen Richardson, which occurred on June 9, 2021.

Richardson is the mother of 35-year-old Wade Cudmore sentenced earlier this month With killing Carl and Erick Fryertwo brothers whose bodies were found in a remote area near Naramata a month before Richardson’s murder. Cudmore’s co-defendant, Anthony Graham, remains at large.

Both Anigbo and Falk have remained in custody since their arrests. Anigbo continues to serve a four-year sentence for unrelated firearms convictions at a maximum security prison in Ontario, while Falk remains at the Okanagan Correctional Centre.

Both men appeared in court in Kelowna on Wednesday via video feed to discuss pre-trial motions.

All Wednesday proceedings are subject to an extensive publication ban to ensure that a potential jury is not biased by information released before the trial.

Photo: Contributed

Wade Cudmore and his late mother Kathy Richardson.

Falk and Anigbo have opted to go before a judge and jury on first-degree murder charges, but trial dates have not yet been set.

Given that pre-trial motions will be pending for most of next year, it will likely take at least another year for the trial to be resolved.

Anigbo, who raps under the name Lolo Lanski, was named one of the top six by Vancouver police the most dangerous gang members in the Lower Mainland in October 2021, four months after Richardson was killed but before he was charged with murder.

Was arrested this month in Richmond on firearms charges and stayed sentenced to four years in prison the following year. In June this year, the Parole Board blocked his statutory dismissalordering him to remain in custody until his sentence expires in July next year. However, he will likely remain behind bars after his sentence expires, awaiting trial in the Naramata murder case.

In its June 2024 decision, the Parole Board noted that Anigbo was believed to have been involved in at least eight assaults in custody, including one incident in April that resulted in another inmate undergoing open heart surgery .

As a result of the April incident, Anigbo was charged with a number of new criminal charges, according to the Vancouver Sun..

The board also said Anigbo’s alleged murder of Richardson was “part of an organized crime spree,” adding that he is an active member of a “security threat group,” as the Parole Board calls the gang.
“Information on the record suggests that you are likely to engage in retaliation against rival gang members in the future,” the Parole Board said. “You are considered a significant member of (a security threat group) due to turf wars and ongoing gang issues.”

Meanwhile, Falk was arrested in July 2022 in Manitoba for allegedly throwing drugs into Stony Mountain Institution using a drone. As a result, he faced a number of drug and firearms charges. Less than a year later, he was charged with Richardson’s murder.

A jury convicted Wade Cudmore of second-degree murder on October 1 this year, after a months-long trial in Vancouver. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on November 18.