A jury trial has been scheduled for a man charged in a central Alberta homicide over two-and-a-half years ago. 

Derrick Phazar Whitford, 29, a resident of the O’Chiese First Nation, is scheduled for a jury trial in Red Deer Court of King’s Bench from March 1-16, 2027. 

He’s charged with second-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old O’Chiese First Nation resident Travis Strawberry. 

It was on Nov. 15, 2024, when Rocky Mountain House RCMP received a report of a body located by hunters in a wooded area of Clearwater County. 

Mounties and a Fish and Wildlife officer attended and confirmed the finding of a recently deceased person with injuries. 

Police said the deceased was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the death investigated as a homicide. The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit took over the investigation. 

Then on Jan. 28, 2025, Mounties charged Derrick Whitford with second-degree murder in relation to Strawberry’s death – the same day Rocky Mountain House RCMP received a 911 call shortly after midnight, reporting a shooting at a residence on the O’Chiese First Nation. 

Upon arrival, officers located a deceased male, who was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the death investigated as a homicide. The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit again, took over the investigation. 

At the time, police said Whitford, whose whereabouts were still unknown, was also wanted on several unrelated offences, including breach of probation, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from peace officer, robbery, and numerous firearm-related offences.      

Whitford, who had ties to the Red Deer and Edmonton areas, was later located and arrested in connection with Strawberry’s death, on Feb. 7, 2025. 

Following that, on July 29, 2025, RCMP arrested and charged Whitford, who was already in custody, with second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 28, 2025, death of 41-year-old Shawn Lee Geddes on the O’Chiese First Nation. 

However, according to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS), Whitford’s matters in the death of Shawn Geddes were stayed on March 9, 2026, as a key witness could not be located. 

Whitford’s matters in relation to Strawberry’s death return to Red Deer Court of King’s Bench on Aug. 4, 2026, in advance of his 2027 trial.