Man accused of killing Chantelle Ruhl now faces 2 obstruction of justice charges, opts for jury trial for murder in BC Supreme Court
David Dalton Knox also charged with indignity to human remains for allegedly dumping 37-year-old Ruhl's body near tracks in April 2025
David Dalton Knox, who is charged with the second-degree murder of 37-year-old Chantelle Ruhl and interference with a dead body, found out on the first day of provincial court in 2026 that he is now also facing two counts of attempting to pervert/defeat/obstruct justice.
It was April 21, 2025, when Ruhl's body was found near the Southern Rail line behind the old Canadian Tire on Vedder Road after the Chilliwack RCMP responded to a report of a suspicious incident at approximately 11 a.m.
On Sept. 6, 2025, the BC Prosecution Service charged Knox with manslaughter and indignity to human remains, but the family was told early on there was a chance it would be upgraded to second-degree murder. On Oct. 31, 2025, Crown counsel Aaron Burns told the court that, yes, the charge was being upgraded from manslaughter to second-degree murder.
One of the new charges of attempting to pervert/defeat/obstruct justice is an allegation from April 19, 2025, the day of the alleged murder. The other allegation is dated April 27.
Also on Monday, Knox opted for a trial in BC Supreme Court with judge and jury.
Chantelle Ruhl (left) in a high-school graduation photo, and David Knox in 2006 after he was arrested for shooting up a classroom at Sardis Secondary School with an airsoft gun. (Facebook, Progress archives)
Knox is accused of killing Ruhl in his apartment two days prior and moving her body to the blackberry bushes next to the tracks.
He appeared in Chilliwack provincial court via video from the Surrey Pretrial Centre on Monday with Ruhl's mother in attendance as she has been at all his court dates.
Ruhl was unhoused living on the streets at the time of her death. A small cross and flowers were put up in the gap between blackberry bushes where her body was located near the rail line. It was still there as of this writing.
"Affectionately known as Chany... born on November 2, 1987, Chantelle graced the world with her caring spirit and thoughtful heart," her mother wrote in a Facebook post after her death.
Knox has a lengthy criminal record spanning the entire two decades of his adult life all in Chilliwack, including six ‘K’ files, which is a court designation referring to domestic violence.
He received media coverage the year he legally became an adult in 2006 when he shot up a classroom at Sardis Secondary with an airsoft pellet gun.
Knox's next court date now is Jan. 19 scheduled for arraignment on the murder and interference charges, then a bail hearing is set for Feb. 9 on those charges. Before or after that point, the case will likely move from provincial court to BC Supreme Court. It’s unclear if the obstruction of justice charges will be added on Jan. 19 to the provincial file or simply follow him to Supreme.
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Paul J. Henderson
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