William Schneider sentenced to life without parole for 14 years

William Schneider was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 14 years Friday after he was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a Japanese exchange student.

The jury announced its verdict on Oct. 19 on the fourth day of deliberations that followed an intense trial during which the court heard the gruesome details about how police discovered 30-year-old Natsumi Kogawa's naked body in a suitcase on the grounds of Gabriola Mansion back in September 2016.

The charge carries a mandatory life sentence without parole for 10 years, but parole eligibility beyond that had yet to be determined at the time of the verdict.

At the end of the trial, Schneider entered a surprise guilty plea on a second count of interfering with human remains, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

The 51-year-old killer was also sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison on that charge, but will serve his sentences concurrently, the BC Prosecution Service explained in a statement to CTV News.

The jury also had the option of finding him guilty of that charge or manslaughter instead of second-degree murder.

Schneider's trial also heard that he had gone to Vernon as police in the Lower Mainland searched for Kogawa, who had been reported missing about three weeks before her body was found.

Schneider was allegedly suicidal and told his brother where police could find the deceased's body, according to the prosecution.

A suspect was arrested in Vernon the same day the exchange student's remains were located.

While coroners weren't able to determine the cause of her death, jurors heard that Kogawa had prescription sedatives in her system. Her body, Crown revealed at trial, was decomposing, but not dismembered.

Standing on the steps of a Vancouver court with a framed portrait of her deceased daughter in hand, the victim's mother, Emiko Kogawa, told reporters after the hearing she doesn’t believe her daughter would have taken the drugs willingly.

At the time, the grieving mother said she hoped Schneider would spend "as long (in prison) as possible."