Brother’s testimony challenged at murder trial

Says he heard accused admit to killing Japanese student

VANCOUVER — The brother of the man accused of murder in the death of a Japanese student testified on Friday he overheard William Schneider telling his ex-wife by phone that “I killed her” or “I did it.”

But during cross-examination, he was told that because he only heard one-half of the phone call, he couldn’t have known what William was referring to.

William and Warren Schneider were drinking together in Polson Park in Vernon on Sept. 28, 2016, the day William was arrested in the case of missing student Natsumi Kogawa, 30.

Her decomposing body was found in a suitcase in Vancouver’s West End later that day, two weeks after friends reported her missing.

William, 51, has pleaded not guilty to seconddegree murder and interfering with human remains.

On Friday, the fifth day of the B.C. Supreme Court trial in Vancouver, Warren recounted how the brothers were drinking — Warren a beer and William a mickey of vodka — at the park that morning.

William had also just bought some heroin so he could commit suicide by overdosing. He had told Warren where in Vancouver he could find the suitcase containing Kogawa’s body so Warren could tell police, Warren testified.

In the Vernon park, while William injected the drugs, Warren stood nearby and “secretly” called 911 to report an overdose, he testified.

“The heroin didn’t kill him and he asked to use my phone,” Warren said.

William called his estranged wife, who lives in Japan with their teen son, Ricky, and asked if she had heard about the missing Japanese student, with Warren in earshot.

“Halfway through, he said he did it, he killed her, or ‘I did it, I killed her,’ ” Warren testified. Warren described William as being calm. “He had just given himself a dose of heroin, so he was in a relaxed mode,” he said.

But during cross examination, Warren was told he couldn’t have known what the conversation was about without hearing the responses of his brother’s ex-wife.

“He may have just said [that] about this or something else. It could have been something completely unrelated to the missing woman, and you have no idea, do you?” William’s lawyer asked him. “No,” replied Warren. About 11:30 p.m. that night, Vernon RCMP went to Polson Park, where Warren had left William 12 hours earlier, and arrested William on a drunk and disorderly complaint.

Warren, meanwhile, had informed RCMP of where they could find Kogawa’s body. Vernon officers realized the intoxicated man was the suspect Vancouver police were looking for and William was charged with second-degree murder.