OUR BELOVED SON, BROTHER, LOVED FOREVER
NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN
THIS SITE HAS BEEN CREATED FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF SHARING INFORMATION TO HELP SOLVE THE BRUTAL MURDER OF PETER SCHNELLHARDT.
In the early morning hours July 4/2006, Williams Lake resident Peter Schnellhardt had been found in a ditch in front of United Concrete and Gravel at 245 Hodgson Road by a fellow employee who was just arriving to work. Peter had been shot 3 times in the head, his throat slit, and according to the coroner his face had been beaten in with a sharp object – possibly a rock. Peter was left there to die by the vicious perpetrators who committed this heinous act. From the information gathered over the last 19 years it is believed that three people had arranged the killing and made certain it was carried out. To date no one has been held accountable and the hope is that the publication of this website will shed new light on Peter’s murder and that justice will prevail.
The first 48 hours after a crime scene are critical, it can mean the difference between a cold case and a closed case. As the clock starts clicking each second is as crucial as the next. There is a great deal of truth to the theory that chances of solving a homicide are cut in half if police don’t get their first viable lead in those first 48 hours.
TWO YEARS AFTER THE MURDER (2008), THE RCMP TOLD A MEMBER OF PETER’S FAMILY
that three individuals Matthew Bengyik, Trina Phillips, and Guy Smith (whose names were kept secret from the public) were the main suspects in the Peter’s murder. One of the accused, Matthew Bengyik, had sustained a serious beating in an unrelated matter in 2007. At that time, the RCMP were working diligently to find evidence that they could take to Crown in order to get charge approval. They went right after Matthew shortly after the murder, because he was already on their radar.
March 2006, Matthew Bengyik was fined $300. for possession of property obtain by crime.
July 7, 2006, just 3 days after the murder of Peter Schnellhardt, Cpl. Jon Collins arrested Matthew Bengyik on an outstanding warrant. During the search of a vehicle, 6 ounces of cocaine, valued at $10,000 was confiscated. In March 2007 Bengyik was given six months in jail and one year probation for possession of a controlled substance, six months for possession for the purpose of trafficking, 15 days for failing to appear or comply with a court summons and three months time served for failing to comply with a sentence or disposition under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Matthew spent 4 months in jail and when he was released he went straight back to the streets and got into more trouble.
DECEMBER 11/2007, MATTHEW FOSTER BENGYIK WAS ALLEGEDLY ATTACKED BY DARRIN MICKEY, A LOCAL DRUG DEALER.
Williams Lake RCMP reached out asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect wanted in connection with an assault that left Matthew Bengyik in critical condition. Early Tuesday evening, December 11th, police were called to a residence in the 100 block of Midnight Drive, after a male suspect entered the residence of Bengyik without permission and brutally beat him into a coma. RCMP determined the incident happened between 6:00 & 6:30 pm.
The male victim, Matthew Bengyik, was flown to a larger centre for medical treatment for his life-threatening injuries. RCMP had determined that it was a targeted attack, though the motive remained under investigation. They claimed they did not want to taint the investigation in any way, it was an ongoing investigation with many leads they were following up on. In 2008, the new charges against Bengyik for assault were dropped due to his injuries. In 2008, Darrin Mickey was charged with aggravated assault against Bengyik. In 2011, the Crown stayed the charges against Mickey due to a lack of evidence.
MAY 30/2009, AN RCMP LED WIRETAP WAS DONE IN ORDER TO CAPTURE A CONFESSION OF MATTHEW BENGYIK TO THE MURDER OF PETER SCHNELLHARDT
Matthew’s former girlfriend became a police agent involved in the wiretapping after Matthew had confessed to her about being involved in the murder of Peter Schnellhardt. Both she and the RCMP officers involved in the sting operation were convinced that Matthew was clearly remembering current events and past life experiences including details of the murder which matched perfectly to what the RCMP already knew from the crime scene, proving beyond a doubt that nothing was different with Matthew Bengyik except for his physical appearance now that he was confined to a wheelchair after the assault on him. During the confession Mathew also implicated Trina Phillips (ex partner of Peters) and Guy William Smith.
ON OCTOBER 7, 2009, A FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGE WAS LAID AGAINST MATTHEW FOSTER BENGYIK BASED ON THE MAY 30 2009 CONFESSION
And within no time at all, Matthew Bengyik was given bail under strict regulations. However, that did not stop Matthew from going against his bail conditions. He was caught on Facebook conversing with friends in Williams Lake and he had been stalking and harassing women in Summerland where he was being “hidden away” in an elderly care facility. The RCMP were called three times, but Matthew’s bail was never revoked.
During the wiretap Matthew Bengyik had implicated the other two suspects, Trina Mae Phillips (Trixie) and Guy William Smith in the Schnellhardt murder. Crown Counsel’s plan was that once the accused was convicted of murder at trial, charges would then be approved against the accomplices, who would then be tried separately at a later date for their roles in the murder. Crown Counsel and the judge who had heard Bengyik’s bail application decided that there was so much available/solid evidence against the accused that a Preliminary Hearing was not required, and the case could go straight to trial. Matthew Bengyik opted to be tried by judge alone.
BEFORE HIS TRIAL IN 2011, BENGYIK PARTICIPATED IN A PLEA DEAL
Matthew Bengyik was video-taped by Crown Counsel and his defence lawyer as Matthew was offered a deal for manslaughter in exchange for Matthew’s testimony against Guy Smith and Trina Phillips, but the plea deal did’t happen. Matthew Bengyik was to stand trial for a reduced second degree murder charge.
TWO YEARS LATER IN 2011, THE JUDGE, THE VERY SAME JUDGE WHO HAD GRANTED THE ACCUSED BAIL AND SAID THAT NO PRELIMINARY HEARING WAS NECESSARY, DECLARED THE ACCUSED NOT GUILTY.
Why did the judge rule Matthew Bengyik not guilty? Because the judge chose not to believe the accused’s wiretapped confession, saying that Mr. Bengyik could have confessed to the murder in order to impress his ex-girlfriend and he also stated that it’s possible that Bengyik was not at the murder scene himself but had heard the hold back evidence in town The judge also stated that the ex-friend/wiretap agent stated at trial that Bengyik had memory issues, which was not true.
The judge backed up his decision to acquit Matthew Bengyik (which allowed all three suspects to go free as a result) by declaring that Crown Counsel had not proven his case. The judge then put on a “lifetime” publication ban on Matthew Bengyik’s name to protect Bengyik from Guy Smith & Trina Phillips, whom he had implicated as his co-murderers during the wiretapping. The ban prevented the trial and the acquittal from being reported in the newspapers, but if Matthew Bengyik was truly not guilty of being involved in the Schnellhardt murder, he would have wanted it publicized, especially after being named at the time of his arrest.
JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF OUR FINE LEGAL SYSTEM, WHICH HAS ALWAYS WORKED IN FAVOR OF THE CRIMINAL AND NOT THE VICTIMS THUS LEAVING THE FAMILIES OF VICTIMS TO SUFFER A TERRIBLE INJUSTICE
SEPT 2014, A COURT HEARING TO LIFT THE PUBLICATION BAN WAS INITIATED BY PETER SCHNELLHARDT’S FAMILY BUT IT WAS DENIED
At this time, Guy William Smith was about to be arrested and charged with manslaughter and performing an indecency to a human remains of Gary Price, who had gone missing in 2013. Now, Smith was a suspect in both the murders of Peter Schnellhardt and Gary Price and the Courts felt it was a bad time to lift the Publication Ban. The RCMP promised to reopen the file on the Schnellhardt murder again thinking that information they gain on Guy Smith relative to the Gary Price murder might help them with the Peter Schnellhardt murder as well, but in the end nothing came of it.
In Dec 2018, Guy Smith was found guilty at trial and sentenced to 11 1/2 years for the death of Gary Price. Smith was given time and a half credit while in pretrial custody in remand. As criminals only serve 2/3 of their sentence, he was out of prison in 4 years. Just think, if Guy Smith had been charged & convicted for the murder of Peter Schnellhardt in 2006, Gary Price would likely still be alive today.
IN 2014, THIS BLOG WAS CREATED
to keep Peter Schnellhardt’s memory alive with the hope that someone might come forward with information that could shed new light on what happened to him. Within just a few short months, someone posted to this blog the names of two of the three murder suspects. This confirmed what was already believed and suspected, that the judge had gotten it all wrong, letting one killer go free at trial and failing to put the other two on trial for what they did.
IN THE ENSUING YEARS PETER SCHNELLHARDT’S FAMILY ATTEMPTED TO BRING AWARENESS OF HIS STILL UNSOLVED MURDER HOPING MORE EVIDENCE WOULD COME FORWARD
CBC NEWS – Bethany Lindsay – March 31/2019
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/bc-killing-peter-schnellhardt
My Cariboo Now – Schnellhardt’s Family Still Seeking Justice in Williams Lake Homicide 13 Years Later
NEW PODCAST EPISODE, October 15/2021
https://murdermurder.news/news/new-podcast-episode-the-unsolved-murder-of-peter-schnellhardt
TRUE NORTH TRUE CRIME, June 30, 2022
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/true-north-true-crime/id1516149477?i=10005682656
AS A RESULT OF THE MEDIA’S HELP IN FINALLY GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT PETER SCHNELLHARDT’S MURDER
a new witness named Rachel came forward with very credible and incriminating evidence. Rachel divulged a lot of information to a private investigator, who had been hired by the Schnellhardt family. In the audio recorded conversation, Rachel spoke of a time right after Peter’s murder where Matthew Bengyik, along with a man who may have been Brian Smith by the description given and who later testified at trial, visited her home. He was desperate to smoke some crack. According to Rachel, Matthew was borderline hysterical and a babbling idiot, who was most definitely in shock. He was wearing jail sneakers and a hospital gown and pants and said that the cops had taken his clothes and his shoes. Matthew told Rachel his clothes were covered in Pete’s blood, and he didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do. Matthew told her that him, Guy Smith and Trina (Trixie) planned a surprise attack against Peter and that he had been involved in killing him. According to Matthew, the plan had been for all three or them to shoot Peter so that they would each be culpable but it didn’t go down that way and now he was freaking out that the cops were going to nail him. This information, and more, was shared by Rachel with the RCMP.
Assuming it’s true, this information the Schnellhardt family received from Rachel through audio tapes and her many written letters, is invaluable. The Schnellhardt family finally has first hand information from Matthew Bengyik’s inner circle as to what allegedly happened to Peter.
From this information, as well as discussions with other sources over the years, it’s apparent that many people had knowledge of Peter’s murder including Brian Smith, Courtney Anne Phillips (who is Trina’s daughter), Leo, Bob H., and others. Most have stated that they did give statements to the RCMP and if that is true then why, other than Brian Smith, were these potential witnesses not brought forward at the Bengyik murder trial so their evidence could be presented? Did the RCMP not provide the statements to Crown Counsel? Did Crown Counsel not want to call on these people to be witnesses for some reason? Or were these potential witnesses not completely honest and forthcoming in their statements to the RCMP? That’s the objective of this website…to answer these questions.
WITH THE HELP OF TWO LAWYERS HIRED BY THE FAMILY OF PETER SCHNELLHARDT’S FAMILY
an ATIP request was submitted in 2018 through the Privacy Commission for information about the murder of Peter Schnellhardt, asking for access to RCMP files. It was denied but Crown asked the RCMP to re-open the cold case. Subsequently, Matthew Bengyik was approached by the RCMP to ask if he would help and he refused. He said he felt no danger from Guy Smith and did not feel compelled to cooperate.
As a result of his refusal to help, the Schnellhardt family contacted a Law Firm to file another application to lift the publication ban on Matthew Bengyik’s name, and at the same time, lift all the restrictions that were placed on the Schnellhardt family on the use of court documents they were able to obtain through the many hearings they had with the trial judge and others over 14 long years. It was filed in 2023 and heard in December 2024.
THIS TIME THE APPLICATION WAS ACCEPTED AND THE PUBLICATION BAN AND RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF TRIAL/HEARING DOCUMENTS WAS VACATED AS OF FEBRUARY 11, 2025. IN THE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT, THE JUDGE STATED THAT IT WAS QUESTIONABLE AS TO WHETHER THE PUBLICATION BAN SHOULD EVER HAVE BEEN PUT ON MATTHEW BENGYIK’S NAME IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE IT IS NOT WITHIN THE REALM OF THE OPEN COURT PRINCIPLE TO PROTECT THE NAMES OF ACCUSED PERSONS, ESPECIALLY MURDERERS, BECAUSE PUBLICATION BANS ARE MEANT TO PROTECT WITNESSES, CHILDREN, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS. IT IS THERE TO PROTECT ACCUSED PERSONS, BUT ONLY BEFORE THEIR TRIAL TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE UPCOMING TRIAL. THE JUDGE ALSO STATED THAT AFTER 19 YEARS THERE ARE NO REAL AND SPECIFIC THREATS TO MATTHEW BENGYIK FROM GUY SMITH AND AS SUCH THE PUBLICATION BAN ON MATTHEW’S NAME FROM THE 2011 TRIAL IS TO BE SET ASIDE.
In addition to the above, please see The Investigative Journal Foundation’s much appreciated article written by Bethany Lindsay and published on May 13/2025 about the harmful effects of publication bans, bringing forth what happened in this case and why it was wrong for the court to have imposed it in the first place (please note that your email address will be required to read the article for free):
https://theijf.org/publication-bans
FURTHER, another ATIP application was submitted through a Law Firm in early 2025 to the RCMP asking for access to their file regarding the murder of Peter Schnellhardt, results of which are expected soon.
Please stay posted for more updates as they become available or join the Facebook group page Justice for Peter Schnellhardt. Thank you
Peter Schnellhardt Murder 