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B.C. woman's remains found decades after her killer was convicted

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The remains of a woman have been found in Prince George, B.C., 30 years after her killer was convicted of her murder. RCMP say the human remains were discovered last month in Connaught Hill Park.
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The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. The remains of a woman have been found in Prince George, B.C., 30 years after her killer was convicted of her murder. RCMP say the human remains were discovered last month in Connaught Hill Park.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The remains of a woman have been found in Prince George, B.C., 30 years after her killer was convicted of her murder. 

RCMP say the human remains were discovered last month in Connaught Hill Park.

Police say with the help of the BC Coroners Service, it was able to identify the remains as those of Donna Charlie, who was killed in 1990. 

While the initial investigation resulted in a conviction, police say the file remained open with its missing persons unit. 

Gerald Smaaslet, who was Charlie's boyfriend at the time of her death, was convicted of second-degree murder after admitting that he buried her headless body in an empty Prince George lot. 

Smaaslet told his trial in 1992 that he buried the woman's head on Connaught Hill. 

An RCMP news release says Charlie's family has been notified of the discovery. 

— With files from the Prince George Citizen

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2022. 

The Canadian Press