A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced a man convicted in the “savage” slayings of two brothers in Naramata drug-related killings to life in prison without parole eligibility for 18 years.
Wade William Cudmore, 35, was convicted in October of second-degree murder by a jury in the May 10, 2021 deaths of Erick and Carlo Fryer.
“Two victims were killed in a brutal, gratuitous fashion,” Justice Brenda Brown said Tuesday, as Cudmore attended by video from prison.
“The deaths of the Fryer brothers have had a devastating impact on their family,” Brown said.
At times, Cudmore, who was born in Burnaby but grew up in the Okanagan, sat with his head down; at others, he fidgeted with his hands as he sat in a small room clad in red prison sweatpants and top.
On Nov. 18, he told Brown he was sorry the brothers had been murdered and was sorry for their family.
“I had nothing to do with the murders,” he then said. “My story’s not going to change.”
Brown said she was satisfied the jury concluded Carlo Fryer and Erick Fryer were attacked and killed by co-accused Anthony Graham and Cudmore.
She said the Kamloops brothers suffered “extreme injuries.” She said Carlo suffered a chop wound to the head which penetrated his brain while Erick was the victim of a shotgun blast at close range.
She said the jury “clearly rejected” Cudmore’s evidence that he had not participated in the killings, that it was Graham alone.
Brown said it was not plausible that Graham could kill two young men acting alone using three different weapons.
Cudmore’s denial on Nov. 18 came moments after the Fryers’ mother, Jane Dela Paz, addressed the court through tears.
“My heart is torn in a million pieces,” she said. “I miss the word Mom. Nobody will call me Mom.”
Cudmore’s parole
“A life sentence means even if he is released, Mr. Cudmore will be under some form of control for the rest of his life,” Brown said.
He pleaded not guilty when arraigned following his arrest in June 2021.
Crown prosecutor Alexander Willms told Brown that Cudmore should serve a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 18 years.
“The murders occurred against the backdrop of a criminal enterprise,” he said, calling the killings, “particularly savage.”
Brown agreed with the criminal enterprise characterization.
Defence lawyer Jordan Watt said that parole eligibility should be set at 12 years.
The killings
The Fryers' bodies were found by two hikers in a remote area near Naramata.
The court heard weapons found nearby were a modified shotgun, a hunting knife and a roofing hammer. A bloody glove was also found.
Cudmore’s DNA was found on the hammer.
Willms said the brothers died of shotgun wounds and blunt force trauma and sharp-force injuries.
The bodies were dragged into a steep ravine off a Naramata forest service road. Carlo was naked from the waist down.
Willms said Cudmore and Graham spent the next day disposing of evidence including two vehicles, one of which belonged to one of the brothers.
Graham remains at large.
As he denied involvement, Cudmore said selling drugs and hanging out with Graham was all he did wrong.
The ultimately fatal meeting with the brothers came after Graham had made efforts to facilitate a drug deal. One of the brothers had sent Graham a price list for $236,250 in drugs in encoded language.
Graham indicated in his message he was not acting alone.
Willms told the court Cudmore and Graham had an active relationship involving drug dealing.
The day before the killings, the two had been together, Willms said. Graham had bought a pump-action shotgun.
The brothers arrived at the scene in a Chevy with a large quantity of drugs that was never recovered, Willms said.
At trial, the court heard of various vehicles connected with the slayings coming and going on the forestry road.
Willms said at trial that GPS data from a Ford F-350 had been in the exact area of the Fryers’ bodies for about 15 minutes early on the morning of May 10.
Cudmore and Graham had already had run-ins with police about drugs.
Willms said Cudmore was on parole at the time of the murders and banned from being in the driver’s seat of a vehicle and from possessing firearms after a drug trafficking conviction.
Cudmore will be eligible for parole on June 18, 2039, the court heard.
