Halloween killer David Geoghegan charged with aggravated assault behind bars
Latest criminal charge comes as Geoghegan is serving eight years for homicide of Justin Smyth on Halloween 2019 near Cultus Lake
February 2, 2026
One of the two men who murdered Jordan Smyth in 2019 near Cultus Lake is proving be less than an ideal inmate serving time at Kent Institution.
David Allen Geoghegan was convicted of kidnapping and manslaughter by a jury in BC Supreme Court in Chilliwack in 2023. The then 33-year-old was sentenced to eight years in prison for the cold-blooded act committed with Darius Commodore, the man who pulled the trigger on Smyth who was on his knees when he was shot.
Smyth’s body was found in an open area off a remote section of Sleepy Hollow Road on the reserve about one kilometre from Cultus Lake on Nov. 1, 2019.
While serving his prison sentence, presumably at Kent, Geoghegan is now charged one count of aggravated assault from an alleged incident on March. 24, 2024, with a place location listed as Agassiz, which means he's either at maximum security Kent (most likely) or at medium security Mountain Institution, which is also in the District of Kent.
He's scheduled for a bail hearing in Abbotsford provincial court on Feb. 10, but an offender serving time for manslaughter. (and other things) isn't getting actual release on bail for another alleged crime behind bars.
Cold-blooded murder
Jordan Smyth was arrested for mischief and identity theft on April 3, 2019, an unremarkable crime but one that led to a few more small crimes, arrests, and an unfortunate meeting at the Surrey Pretrial Services Centre. That's where he met David Geoghegan and a plot was struck for Smyth to smuggle drugs inside where they are worth a considerably higher price than on the streets.
On Oct. 23, 2019, Smyth was released setting the plan in motion. A girlfriend supplied the drugs to Smyth that he was ordered to “secrete in his body,” according to court documents. He was then supposed to get arrested, return to Surrey Pretrial where they could sell the drugs to inmates.
But Smyth had a change of heart and Geoghegan was not impressed.
“It was apparent that [Geoghegan] was becoming frustrated with Mr. Smyth's reticence to follow through with the plan,” according to the BC Supreme Court sentencing decision by Justice Dev Dley from Sept. 7, 2023.
Geoghegan was released from Surrey Pretrial eight days after Smyth on Oct. 31, 2019, with retribution on his mind. He was ordered to live at Joshua House, an addiction treatment centre in the Chilliwack River Valley with next to no security. Geoghegan knew where Smyth lived. He called Darius Commodore who stole a Volkswagen Jetta and a shotgun, came up to Joshua House to get Geoghegan.
Smyth was living at the apartment of yet another prolific offender, Lorne Sims. Whether or not Commodore brought the shotgun into the apartment was not confirmed at trial, but Sims testified that Smyth went willingly with the two men. The jury and the sentencing judge concluded that he had no choice.
While Geoghegan drove, Commodore beat Smyth in the back seat and put zap-straps on his wrists. They drove to a location described in the court decision as “Pepé’s place” where the kidnappers went inside to sell and do drugs. After 45 minutes they came out, drove to a gravel pit on Sleep Hollow Road on the Soowahlie Reserve near Cultus Lake for the terrible final Halloween night conclusion.
That's where Commodore shot Smyth with the shotgun killing him.
Commodore’s trial commenced after Geoghegan’s but ended in a mistrial when the jury couldn't come to a verdict. At that trial, Geoghegan refused to testify. He was found in contempt of court and on Dec. 7, 2023 sentenced to 18 months in prison to run consecutive to the manslaughter/kidnapping conviction.
Crown said it planned to re-try Commodore again for murder but in June 2024 he pleaded guilty to to the lesser charge of unlawful confinement, and was handed a conditional sentence.
On Sept. 7, 2023, Justice Dev Dley sentenced the 33-year-old Geoghegan to eight years in jail. Geoghegan had served 800 days in pre-trial custody, so with credit at 1.5-to-one that's 1,200 days, which is about three years, three-and-a-half months. From that date of sentencing on Sept. 7, 2023, he had four years, eight months and 10 days left to serve, which means as of Feb. 2, 2026, he has two years, four months left. However, committing more crimes behind bars will likely extend that.
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Paul J. Henderson
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