A B.C. man has been found guilty of murder of a Japanese student in Vancouver.

According to news reports, a 12-person jury found William Schneider guilty of second-degree murder of Natsumi Kogawa, who was 30 years old at the time of her death. Her body was found in a suitcase outside Gabriola Mansion on Davie Street, a vacant historical building in Vancouver's West End on September 28, 2016.

She had been last seen on September 7, 2016, and the Vancouver Police Department announced she was missing on September 13, 2016.

On September 27, 2016, Burnaby RCMP announced they were searching for a person of interest who was seen with Kogawa in surveillance footage in Downtown Vancouver. On the same day that Kogawa's body was located, Schneider was arrested in Vernon, B.C., by RCMP on September 28.

On February 10, 2017, Schneider was charged with second-degree murder, in addition to an earlier charge of committing an indignity to a human body. The charge has a mandatory life sentence, with parole eligibility to be determined.

Schneider pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. However, in an unexpected move, Schneider changed his plea to the charge of committing an indignity to a human body to guilty on October 15. The maximum sentence for the charge is five years in prison.

William Schneider's brother, Warren, testified against William, stating that William had informed him to tell police where Kogawa's body was.