Skip to content

BREAKING: Man charged in June 2020 homicide in Westlock

Eddy Trindle, 20, faces second-degree murder charges in a 2020 murder in Northern Alberta after victim found in condo lobby.
WES June, 2020 Homicide_1
Eddie Trindle, 20, faces a charge of second-degree murder in relation to a June 9, 2020, homicide in Westlock. Trindle has been remanded in custody and his next court appearance is set for June 22 in Westlock Provincial Court.

WESTLOCK, Alta — Almost two years to the day after a Westlock man was found dead in the lobby of a townhouse complex, RCMP have charged a 20-year-old man with second-degree murder.

As the result of a lengthy, 24-month investigation by the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit, on June 7, officers charged Eddy Trindle with second-degree murder. Alberta RCMP Media Relations Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in a follow-up interview that Trindle was arrested at the Edmonton Remand Centre, where he’s currently an inmate, and is slated to make his first appearance in Westlock Provincial Court June 22.

At 10:30 a.m. June 9, 2020, Westlock RCMP received a call that a body had been found in the front lobby of one of the Westlock Estates buildings at 10540-103rd Street. The RCMP Major Crimes Unit was called in to assist and interviewed area residents, while a canine team searched the neighbourhood.

An autopsy was conducted June 11, 2020, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton and RCMP confirmed the death was a homicide. RCMP have finally released that the victim was 41-year-old Westlock resident Barry Wheadon — until the June 9 RCMP release, the name of the victim had not been officially released.

Savinkoff couldn’t talk specifically about this investigation but said murder cases are extremely complex and sometimes take years to conclude.

“Obviously murder is a very serious offence and in Canada you can only try someone once for an offence. And so, when you’re dealing with a serious offence, you want to make sure you’re at a stage where you have enough evidence that you firmly believe you can get a conviction or you have as much evidence as you’re going to get,” said Savinkoff June 9.

“So, it’s that work between the investigators and the Crown prosecutor to determine at what time it is appropriate, given the evidence you have, to make an arrest. So, you take your time as investigator, you work with your Crown prosecutor and once you feel you have enough evidence to bring forward, that is the appropriate time to lay the charges so you have your best chances for conviction.”

Savinkoff didn’t know if any past COVID-19 restrictions, which interrupted many workplaces over the past two years, had an impact or slowed the investigation.

“Obviously the RCMP dealt with COVID along with everybody else. I’ve heard reports that we managed very well, especially in a unit as important as the Major Crimes Unit. The RCMP would always make sure that the unit would be fully staffed and able to respond to these serious investigations.”

George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks