The case of Albert Giesbrecht, the 亚洲天堂 Lake resident charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Raymond George Bishop, has not moved forward since his first court appearance in May.

Giesbrecht was expected to appear in the Smithers Supreme Court on June 19, 2017 for a judicial interim release hearing (bail hearing). However, this hearing still hasn鈥檛 taken place.

鈥淧revious dates have been adjourned and no new date has been set,鈥� explained Dan McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Attorney General.

Earlier this year, McLaughlin said it鈥檚 not uncommon for defence counsels to ask for bail hearings to be adjourned. This allows the defence counsel more time to make a case. A court hearing is where a judge decides whether to release the accused person from custody while they wait for their trial or some other result.

鈥淎n accused person is entitled to a release or bail hearing once he鈥檚 been arrested, but because he鈥檚 been arrested for a first-degree murder offence, the onus is on him to show cause why he should be released,鈥� explained McLaughlin. 鈥淣ormally the onus is on the Crown to show why someone should be detained; but in this case, because of the nature of the offence and the provisions of the Criminal Code, the onus is essentially reversed.鈥�

The date for his next court appearance is expected to be set on Oct. 16, 2017.

The 亚洲天堂 Lake RCMP found Bishop deceased on the Southside on May 18, 2017 after receiving multiple calls from local residents at around 6:30 a.m.

North District Major Crime and forensic experts were called to the community to assist the 亚洲天堂 Lake RCMP with this investigation. Anyone with information on this homicide should call the 亚洲天堂 Lake RCMP at 250-692-7171.