Kelowna man pleads guilty to murder of mother of his 2 children

Jay Sinclaire Thomson has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Theresa Neville, a 27-year-old mother of two from Kelowna, B.C.

Thomson (62) entered his plea Monday morning in Kelowna at the start of his trial at B.C. Supreme Court. 

Neville's body was found in a home she shared with Thomson and their two children in the 300 block of Yates Road on June 18, 2013.

It would take another four years before Thomson was arrested and charged with the murder.

Stabbed at least 35 times

The court heard, from an agreed statement of facts read out by Crown prosecutor Mark Levitz, that Thomson stabbed Neville "at least 35 times" in a fit of anger.

Levitz did not provide details of what happened immediately prior to the killing, but said Thomson had a growing suspicion that Neville was cheating on him with another man.

The 88 pound woman died of her injuries, and Thomson came up with an alibi to try and avoid responsibility for the killing, Levitz said

After he washed the blood off his hands, Thomson left the home and bought doughnuts at a coffee shop and brought a receipt home with him.

He then called 911 and told the operator he had been away from the house for about an hour and returned to see a stranger fleeing the yard before finding Neville's bloody body inside their home.

Thomson gave the RCMP a detailed description of the stranger, which investigators used to create a composite sketch of a suspect, according to Levitz.

The case remained unsolved for years, and Thomson held onto his alibi repeating his lies to family and friends and telling them other stories about his relationship with Neville.

Thomson told his ex-wife that Neville had been abusing drugs and that the stranger who came to their home the night of her death was likely a drug dealer.

However a toxicology report found no drugs in her system, Levitz said.

Investigators eventually announced they no longer believed Neville was killed by a stranger and in November 2017 Thomson was arrested and charged with second degree murder.

Started a relationship with a 15 year old

The court heard how Thomson and Neville met in 2001 on a beach in Kelowna when he was 45 years old and Neville was 15.

Neville was upset and crying, and Thomson, who was already married with four children, comforted her and gave the teen his phone number, so she could call him if she wanted to speak again.

Neville and Thomson struck up a friendship and Thomson taught her how to drive.

Thomson introduced the teen to his family, saying she needed friends and invited her on a family ski trip and over for dinner at their home.

He started a sexual relationship with Neville and fathered her child when she was still a teenager, Levitz said.

Thomson had a second child with Neville and he eventually left his wife to move in with Neville and the children, living with them until Neville's death in 2013.

Court to hear victim impact statements

Several of Neville's family members and friends were in court to hear Thomson's guilty plea.

The court will hear victim impact statements at a sentencing hearing Jan. 24.