A charge of manslaughter has been approved against the former boyfriend of Amy Watts after an 18-month investigation following her disappearance, Nanaimo RCMP say.
Kyle Gordon Ordway, 38, has been charged in the death of Watts, whose body was found in a wooded ravine in downtown Nanaimo in June 2021.
Watts, who was 26, was in a relationship with Ordway when she disappeared in May 2021, police said.
Ordway is currently in custody for an unrelated matter, and the date of his next court appearance on the manslaughter charge had not been set.
Police said they used “significant resources and expertise” in their investigation in the weeks and months after the case began, “exhaustively” searching a number of locations and following up on dozens of tips.
“Given that this matter is now before the courts and that an individual has been formally charged and is before the courts, police will not be providing any additional information with regards to the investigation,” said Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien.
Watts was originally from Prince Edward Island and moved to Vancouver Island several years ago. She had been in Nanaimo for seven years.
Her mother, Janice Coady, travelled from Prince Edward Island to Nanaimo in June 2021 to speak at a vigil for her daughter and retrieve her ashes — and to let people know what a special person she was.
“I told them that I wanted them to know that Amy was a strong and intelligent and courageous young woman,” Coady said at the time.
She said in a 2021 interview with the Times Colonist that her daughter had struggled with mental-health issues and was in treatment for addiction numerous times.
She said Watts kept journals that she hopes can help other families dealing with mental-health concerns.
“It’s hard to read but it’s something that I want to bring forward in the future, when I’m able to, to help other people understand what mental health is.”
Coady said that Watts grew up with a loving family and won awards for singing. She also played soccer and was a gymnast.
Watts got into a mental-health facility in Nanaimo that had outreach services, Coady said, and at the same time was studying in a mental-health worker program at Vancouver Island University, making the dean’s list and working with both Nanaimo Youth Services and Good Samaritan House.
Her life began to change for the worse after that, and she died despite Coady managing to get her back into treatment.
“She deserved better than that,” Coady said. “So does everybody else.”
