Fort Simpson residents not forgetting Billy Cholo’s mysterious death

Stickers made and handed out by Troy Bradbury. (photo submitted by Bradbury)

January will mark six years since a mysterious 2014 murder happened in Fort Simpson.

Community members continue to ask, “Who Killed Billy Cholo?”

Resident Troy Bradbury is helping keep the question and conversation alive.

“Two or three years ago I decided there wasn’t much emphasis put on his case, and it was being put on the shelf. So I printed off some stickers and passed them out to community members and thankfully it fired up the conversation again,” Bradbury told CKLB.

Mayor Sean Whelly thinks Bradbury’s stickers and buttons are good initiative. But he also thinks the police are doing the best they can on the cold case.

“The RCMP have been doing a good job trying to solve this crime, but it’s going to take some evidence and information from the community to get this figured out,” added Whelly.

In an email from G-Division RCMP, they say “they are not in a position to speak publicly on the case at the moment.”
However they agree any tips from the public is “extremely valuable. Information provided by community members can help with evidence to support the investigation.”

There was an arrest reported in January of 2017, but no name or information was released. Cholo’s body was found in a gazebo in the community in January of 2014, after he was reported missing in late December 2013.

A photo of the late Billy Cholo submitted by his family.

 

About the Author

Josh Campbell
Start your morning with the Splash on Denendeh Sunrise from 7:30-8:30am. Campbell was trained and mentored by longtime CKLB host and Gwich'in entertainer William Greenland. Prior to hosting the morning show and filling in on the Saturday Request Show, he had stints in the Yukon on CKRW the Rush, CBC North in Yellowknife, and began his broadcasting career at CJCD Mix 100. Before moving North he was born and raised on the banks of the Tobique River, the traditional territory of the Wolastoqiyik, Tobique Maliseet First Nation.