London man charged with 2nd-degree murder 4 years after Indigenous man's body found on former army base

A London, Ont., man has been charged in connection with the 2020 killing of David Oliver, a 29-year-old Indigenous resident from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation whose family has pleaded for answers for the past four years.

The accused, now 20, would have been a teenager at the time of Oliver's death, meaninghisidentity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The man wascharged Wednesday with second-degree murderand indignity to a body, according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

"It's been a long four years, and I know [Oliver's family] has been waiting for this. They've been patiently waiting, praying for answers every day," said Kimberley Bresette, the chief ofKettle and Stony Point First Nation.

"A lot of the community is happy for the family. That they finally have some closure and justice."

Oliver was found dead at the former army base near the intersection of Highway 21 and Army Camp Road in Lambton County after his family reported him missing on Aug. 2, 2020.

Since then, Oliver's family and his community have erected billboardsand started a social media movement in an attempt to gather information on the case.A $50,000 reward forinformation that would lead to the conclusion of the homicide investigation was offered. It's not known if the reward was collected following the arrest of the suspect.

"This was such a horrific event. We all feel the loss of any community member because we're all family and we're so deeply connected," Bresette said.

Family and community members told CBC News that Oliver had aspirations to one day lead his community as chief, and was a respected and loved member of the First Nation.

Crisis support teams will be coming into the community to offer support to those who need it in the next few days, according to the chief.

As news begins to spread in the community that effortsto find Oliver's killer could be coming to an end, Bresette said people in the First Nation are feeling a range of emotions due to how long people have waited for answers.

"People are happy, but it's a little overwhelming for everyone. It's just a lot to process. People have been fearful because this has been unsolved and you just don't know when it could happen again."

One thing that hasn't changed between the time Oliver died and the time his alleged killer was arrested is thesupport that's been directed at his family from the community, Bresette said, adding that Oliver's memory is still very much alive in the community.

Bresette also expressed gratitude to boththeAnishinabek Police Service and the OPP, who she said have worked diligently to track down Oliver's alleged killer.

While some sense of closure is beginning to be felt by the community and Oliver's family, she added, there are still hurdles to overcome.

"It's probably going to be a long time before they actually have complete closure.This family has suffered tremendously, and they're going tohave to go through this tough time now as well as all the details of the trial," Bresette said.

"Then, closure will probably come after that."

Police said Wednesday the investigation is ongoing and they continue to ask anyone with information to come forward.

Those who wish to remain anonymousare asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).