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Trial underway at B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster for Anahim Lake murders

The Supreme Court in New Westminster is currently holding trial for one of the three of the accused
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Both Hennigar and Andy were born in Bella Coola and raised alongside one another as their parents were close friends

The B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster is currently holding the trial for at least one of the three of the accused in the Boxing Day murders of 23-year-old Matthew Hennigar and 22-year-old Kalvin Andy in Anahim Lake in 2014.

Christian Craciun, Andrew Jongbloets, and Serena Rhem were charged with second degree murder. Bryan “Everett” O’Reilly is charged with first degree murder. O’Reilly’s trial has not yet begun but a pre-trial conference is scheduled for December 8, 2017.

The court registry confirmed that a trial is underway for Andrew Jongbloets but were not able to confirm if proceedings had started for Craciun and Rhem. As of November 7, court documents indicated that Jongbloets trial is in its 21st of 23 scheduled days.

Charges of manslaughter using a firearm against Bella Coola residents Lucille Mack and Steven Mecham were dropped last year.

The charges stem from an incident on Dec. 26, 2014 when the Anahim Lake RCMP received a report just before midnight of shots being fired at a home in the 2100 block of Dorsey Road.

Upon arrival police found Hennigar and Andy both dead at the scene. Hennigar was a resident of Anahim Lake and Andy was from Bella Coola.

All those arrested and those killed were known to one another, although their relationships and the motive for the killings has not been released.

Both Hennigar and Andy were born in Bella Coola and raised alongside one another as their parents were close friends. Hennigar resided in Anahim Lake where Andy often visited him; such was the case over the Christmas holidays.

Eulogies depicted the two as “good friends” who enjoyed the same activities. They were described as similar in nature “both quiet and kind-hearted boys with a great love for the outdoors, adventure, and mechanics.” Hennigar left behind a 14-month old son.