RCMP in B.C. have charged David Frank Hall with second-degree murder following the slaying of Stephanie Patterson. Photo: Coquitlam RCMP
The man who was last seen with Stephanie Patterson, a Kwikwetlem band councillor, is now accused of her death, police in B.C. announced Thursday.
David Frank Hall, 57, is charged with one count of second-degree murder.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) alleged Hall killed Patterson on Aug. 11 in or near Mission, B.C., 60 km southeast of Vancouver.
Patterson, who was elected to the Kwikwetlem First Nation band council in March, was reported missing to Coquitlam RCMP on Aug. 12 after leaving the community with Hall in a truck the night before.
On Tuesday, officers recovered the remains of the 44-year-old woman in a rural area of Mission.
Patterson was a survivor of the ’60s Scoop — when Indigenous children across the country were taken from their birth families — who grew up in foster homes and was adopted twice.
Kwikwetlem Chief Ron Giesbrecht in a statement released through IHIT said the community was mourning the news.
“The entire Nation is grieving this tragic and sudden loss and we appreciate the outpouring of support, love and condolences we have been receiving from throughout the Lower Mainland,” Giesbrecht said.
Giesbrecht thanked police, media and members of the public for helping find Patterson – “our beloved councillor and community member.”
The First Nation said it would not comment on the legal proceedings, and concluded with a request for privacy.
A member of the public found Patterson’s remains, police added.
Patterson is survived by her three children with Hall, from whom she had been long separated.
