The BC Prosecution Service has approved a charge of indignity to human remains against 52-year-old Iain Hunt, the husband of Trina Hunt, who was reported missing from her Port Moody home on Jan. 18, 2021.
Her body was located near Hope more than two months later, on March 29, 2021.
According to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), the charge against Iain Hunt occurs when a person “neglects to perform their legal duty to bury a human body, or if a person interferes in an improper, indecent or undignified way with a dead human body or human remains.”
IHIT spokesperson, Sgt. Freda Fong, said in a news release, “The laying of a charge does not dilute the loss and pain endured by Trina’s family and friends. There is still a long road ahead as the community continues to heal from her tragic death.”
Fong added the charge is “the result of the persistence and dedication by the investigators who were committed to seeing the case through.”
Trina Hunt’s disappearance almost four years ago sparked a massive search by friends, family and community volunteers including members of Coquitlam Search and Rescue.
After a decomposing body was found at Silver Lake and then positively identified as Trina Hunt more than a month later, over 130 officers and support staff worked on the case. They received 140 tips from the public, conducted 90 interviews, analyzed more than 270 hours of video footage, and reviewed 400GB of digital evidence.
“This is a tragic homicide that has had a huge impact on our community, including the investigators,” said Fong on Jan. 17, the four-year anniversary of Trina Hunt’s disappearance.
Hunt and her husband, Iain, lived in a home in the Heritage Woods neighbourhood when he reported her missing.
A month after Trina Hunt’s body was identified, her family announced a $50,000 reward for anyone offering information about her murder that would lead to charges.
Days later, IHIT executed search warrants on two homes in Port Moody and Mission.
In June, 2022, a man was arrested and later released without charges.
Since then Trina Hunt’s family and investigators have dutifully marked the anniversaries of her disappearance to keep the case in the public eye.
“This journey has been incredibly difficult, with never-ending waves of grief, anguish and trauma repeatedly engulfing us,” said Trina Hunt’s brother, Brad Ibbott in a 2023 statement.
Last August, Hunt’s family renewed its plea for information to help solve her murder.
“We are crushed that still today no one is in custody for the murder of Trina,” Ibbott said.
Iain Hunt is scheduled to appear in court in Port Coquitlam on March 5.
Fong said Tuesday, Feb. 4, as the case is now before the courts, no further details will be released.
During a media availability on Tuesday, Fong said that police are open to further information from the public in connection to Trina Hunt's death.
"We continuously welcome information and people can still provide information as they wish if they believe it’s helpful,” she told reporters, adding homicide investigators will remain on the case and the police tip line is still open.
When asked about why a murder charge was not laid and how Trina Hunt died, Fong reiterated she cannot comment as the case is before the courts.
"I can't go into the details of the investigation,” she said. "What’s important is that police need to conduct an objective and fair investigation, a thorough investigation has been conducted, and with the evidence presented to the prosecution service, the charge of indignity to human remains has been approved."
Even though a charge has been laid, Fong said "there's still a long road ahead."
As for the $50,000 reward, Fong said she believes it's still available as there were no tips that led to the charge.
"Investigators at IHIT did meet with the family this morning to advise them of the [charge],” she said.
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