Prince George, BC –  A BC Supreme Court Justice has found Lloyd William Cook guilty on two of four charges in connection with the 2000 death of 13-year-old Adam Scott Williams-Dudoward in Prince George.

With Cook still ‘at large’ on an outstanding warrant after failing to show up in court last Thursday, Mr. Justice Glen Parrett ruled earlier this week that accused was absconding and his verdict would come down with or without the accused’s presence today.

Mr. Justice Parrett has found the 55-year-old former Prince George resident not guilty on charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death, but found Cook guilty on the charges of unlawful confinement and interference with a dead body.

According to Justice Parrett, the 13-year-old died on January 7th, 2000, in the home he shared with his younger brother, his mother, Judy Elaina Williams, and her common-law partner, Lloyd William Cook, on Glenview Drive.  Justice Parrett said Adam had been tied up for three days before going into medical distress and dying. 

Judy Williams earlier pleaded guilty to interference with a dead body and is serving two years of house arrest.  Williams was a key witness for the Crown in this case.  In handing down his decision, Mr. Justice Parrett noted that both Cook and Williams untied the boy when they found him in distress and carried him to the bathroom where Cook began performing CPR.  But he noted major discrepancies between testimony from Cook and Williams from that point on, and said Williams could have phoned 911, yet did not.  Mr. Justice Parrett said he found Williams’ testimony lacking in credibility and detail – saying over and over in her testimony that she was afraid of Cook, but never providing a basis for that fear.  He also pointed out that on several occasions in the years after her son’s death, Williams – without Cook present – told false stories to Ministry of Children and Family Development officials and others about Adam’s whereabouts.  In 2004, Williams left the trailer she shared with Cook in Oliver, BC, and went to the RCMP to report what had happened to her son.

"It is an unspeakable tragedy, that at this trial – some 12 years after his death – we know almost nothing about what really happened," said Mr. Justice Parrett. 

He said the Crown failed to prove its case on the manslaughter charge.  He said the gaping hole in the Crown’s case was the lack of medical or physical explanation for the boy’s death, and there was no evidence to link Cook to that outcome either.  He also said it’s unreasonable to assert that Cook should have stopped CPR to phone 911, when another person was present.

In sentencing submissions on the two guilty verdicts, Crown Counsel is seeking a sentence in the range of 2- to 3-years to be served consecutively.  Lawyer Lara Vizsolyi said Cook and Williams had resources available to them when they needed help dealing with Adam, instead of tying him up and leaving him in a room.  "It’s abhorrent, it’s appalling, and it’s a horrible way for this young man to have ended his life because his life ended with him unable to assist himself in any way – his hands tied and his feet tied, and him unable to breath."

"And while that may not amount to culpable homicide, it is a horrific circumstance created by Mr. Cook and Miss Williams and their conduct."

Defence lawyer, Stephen Taylor, is seeking a sentence of 18-month to be served concurrently for Cook.  Taylor said does not want to serve his time in the community and is willing to go to jail.

Mr. Justice Parrett said he would defer imposing a sentence until Cook can be located and brought before the court, or, as failing that, "after a suitable period of time".

Crown Counsel advised the court at the start of proceedings that RCMP have been actively looking for the man and are following up on a number of leads in their efforts to locate him.