Crown fails in bid to keep man accused of murder locked up

The man accused of murdering a young mother in Kelowna in 2013 has been released on bail again.

Jay Sinclaire Thomson, 61, was arrested on Nov. 29, 2017, and charged with second-degree murder in the death of 27year-old Theresa Neville.

Thomson was released on bail in January of this year.

He was then taken back into custody after being charged with attempting to obstruct justice for an incident on Oct. 5.

The Crown applied to have his bail revoked on the murder charge.

Thomson appeared in B.C. Supreme Court by video Monday morning to hear Justice Paul Riley’s decision. Riley denied the Crown’s application. Thomson was also released on the obstruction of justice charge in provincial court.

The circumstances of the offence and the reasons behind the bail decisions are protected by a publication ban.

Thomson’s pretrial conference is set for Dec. 5, and the trial is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2019.

On June 18, 2013, police responded to a 911 call from a home in the Glenmore area of Kelowna at 12:37 a.m.

On arrival, officers discovered Neville’s body and deemed her death a homicide.

Her two daughters, ages eight and 10 at the time, were home when paramedics arrived at their rented house at 397 Yates Rd.

The children were unharmed and may have been sleeping when their mom was killed, said police.

In 2016, police said they were confident the murder was not a random attack.