Former BC Lions player charged in 2009 murder of ex-girlfriend

A former wide receiver for the BC Lions has been charged with the murder of his former girlfriend, nine years after her death.

Kimberly Hallgarth, 33, was found dead inside a Burnaby home with suspicious injuries in March 2009.

Although her case was investigated by BC’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, charges in her murder were never laid.

On Monday, police announced that a charge of second-degree murder has been approved against former CFL player Josh Boden. The pair were in a relationship at the time of Hallgarth’s death, according to investigators.

The 32-year-old former CFL player is scheduled to appear in BC Provincial Court today.

Inspector Dave Chauhan said that investigators have been able to gain new evidence in the nine years since Hallgarth’s death.

“We never wavered in our investigative efforts,” said Chauhan. “I realize the past nine years have been very difficult on Kim’s family and my deepest condolences go out to them.  I thank them for their patience and I hope the news of someone being held accountable for Kim’s death brings some semblance of peace.”

Boden played for the BC Lions briefly in 2007.

In response to the charges, Kimberly’s family released the following statement to the media:

First of all, we would like to thank all the members of IHIT’s Cold Case Team for all their hard work and relentless efforts on this investigation.

We have waited nearly 10 long years for this moment and are relieved that closure is in sight. Only we know the unimaginable grief that our family has been going through and the toll it has taken on every family member. What we have been going through is something that no family should ever have to experience.

Kim was a bubbly and caring person who deeply loved being the mother to Hailey and the void that her murder has left in our hearts can never be filled. She loved life and was always able to make everyone around her laugh. For those of you who knew Kim, you know that she had a heart of gold and genuinely cared about everybody she was close to. We will always remember her infectious laugh.

We recognize that nothing can bring Kim back. However, we need and deserve closure and are glad to see this next step today. We strongly urge the accused, his family, friends and acquaintances who were or are aware of any details related to this incident and withheld any information from the police to come forward now and do the right thing. We understand the accused and his family have also suffered from this senseless act of violence. We can only hope that the accused will cooperate and help everyone involved move forward.

We would also like to thank our extended family and friends for their endless love and support through this extremely difficult time.

At this time, we would like to ask the media to please respect the privacy of our family.