Kyle Gordon Ordway was sentenced for assault causing bodily harm for abuse against a woman confined to her own Wakesiah Ave. townhouse unit in Feb. 2021. (Nanaimo RCMP)

By Ian Holmes

sentenced

Man sentenced for attacks against woman at Nanaimo townhouse, faces manslaughter trial

Jun 30, 2023 | 4:15 PM

NANAIMO — A BC Supreme Court justice sternly rejected the testimony of a man convicted of beating up a woman who once considered him a close friend.

Kyle Gordon Ordway, 38, received 18 months in jail followed by 18 months probation after he was found guilty by a BC Supreme Court jury in early May of assault causing bodily harm in relation to events at a Wakesiah Ave. townhouse unit in Feb. 2021.

Justice Wendy Baker concluded Ordway, in conjunction with his then-girlfriend Amy Watts, repeatedly assaulted a woman multiple times while she was confined to her own bedroom.

“I did not find Mr. Ordway to be a credible or reliable witness,” Baker said during her Friday, June 30 judgment in Nanaimo.

At trial, Ordway claimed he only assaulted the victim once and that he only saw Watts attack the victim, Jenny Webber, with a singular punch to the face.

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Justice Baker found Ordway burned the victim with a hot crack pipe at least once and that Ordway knew Watts repeatedly assaulted the woman.

“I’m satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the assaults were multiple, that the assaults occurred over a number of days.”

Based on the available evidence Justice Baker concluded Watts had held Webber in her bedroom with Ordway’s knowledge.

The trial heard Ordway brought Watts from a Lower Mainland substance abuse treatment centre directly to the Wakesiah Ave. home where Ordway had moved in a couple of months prior.

Justice Baker accepted the testimony of a man residing in the drug-infested unit that Ordway was punishing Webber because he claimed she owed him money.

Webber told the trial she escaped the unit by having Watts believe somebody was dropping off drugs.

Two days later Webber made a statement at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment.

Bruises and marks on her face, arms, back and legs captured in police photographs.

Justice Baker noted the victim suffers from PTSD as a result of the prolonged violence unleashed against her.

After nearly two full days of deliberations in early May the jury could not reach a consensus on charges against Ordway of forcible confinement and theft under $5,000.

As a result, the Crown’s Neal Bennet informed the court following Friday’s judgment that the two unresolved charges had been dropped.

Ordway was visibly relieved from the prisoner’s box.

While Ordway received a time-served jail sentence, he remains in custody due to a more serious allegation.

He’s accused of manslaughter in connection to Watts’ death.

Her body was found in early June 2021 at the base of a steep ravine near Nanaimo City Hall several days after her family reported her missing.

Ordway’s case is destined for a Supreme Court trial with an upcoming preliminary inquiry scheduled.

Ordway has a long criminal record of primarily property crimes, heavily linked to drug addiction.

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