Tim Petruk, Kamloops This Week
A Fraser Valley man accused of murdering his girlfriend in a Kamloops hotel suite more than three years ago discarded some of her belongings near Sicamous while fleeing B.C. following her death, a judge has been told.
Debra Novacluse, 52, was found dead in a first-floor room at the Super 8 motel in Aberdeen on Aug. 27, 2016.
Her body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag hidden beneath a mattress.
David Miller, now 69, was arrested days later in Ontario and is now standing trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on one count of first-degree murder.
In an interview with police after his arrest, Miller admitted to having caused Novacluse’s death, but said it was accidental or the result of rough sex gone too far.
Miller and Novacluse were visiting Kamloops from Abbotsford when she died.
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Prosecutors have alleged Miller then took Novacluse’s truck and drove to Alberta, where he abandoned the vehicle at a truck stop near Calgary before catching a flight to Ontario.
In court on Tuesday, Kamloops RCMP Const. Colt Dzaman said he was tasked with following up on information Miller gave to police after his arrest. In his interview, Miller said he discarded some of Novacluse’s personal belongings just east of Sicamous.
Dzaman said he travelled to Sicamous on Sept. 27, 2016, after someone found Novacluse’s purse in a ditch.
Dzaman also described items found in Novacluse’s abandoned truck, which included a phone bill in Miller’s name.
Miller’s trial is slated to conclude this month.
The Crown is expected to close its case on Wednesday.
Defence lawyer Jim Heller has made no indication as to whether Miller will call evidence.