A man charged with murder, arson, and indignity to human remains pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon in a Fort St. John courtroom.
Leon Wokeley faces the charges in connection with the 2014 death of Pamela Napoleon.
"It's his constitutional right and basically he's entitled to challenge the evidence," said Wokeley's lawyer, Georges Rivard, outside the courtroom.
Wokeley will be waiving his right to a preliminary hearing in order to head straight to B.C. Supreme Court, where he will elect to be tried by a judge alone.
Preliminary hearings are held for the court to decide if there is enough evidence to convict the accused. Rivard said his client chose to waive a preliminary hearing to avoid further delays in the case, as a hearing wouldn't have been scheduled for up to a year, Rivard said. Several of Wokeley's court appearances have been held over as the Crown worked through its evidence disclosure files to give to the defence.
"Each case is particular to its own," Rivard said. "This one, it seemed to be more appropriate to simply waive the prelim."
Wokeley was arrested in Fort St. John on Oct. 27, 2017, after a three-year investigation into Napoleon's death.
Police say Wokeley and Napoleon knew each other, and were last seen leaving Blueberry River First Nation together on July 8, 2014.
Napoleon's remains were found in a burned down cabin near the community a month later.
Wokeley's next appearance is scheduled for June 11 at 10 a.m. to fix a date for trial.
Napoleon's family and friends held a gathering and smudge before Wednesday's appearance.
