DAWSON CREEK -- The trial for a Dawson Creek man accused of killing his girlfriend in Mexico will begin in August.

Ryan Friesen is facing a charge of femicide in connection with the death of Kiara Agnew in March 2023.

The couple was in the Mexican Riveria to celebrate Kiara’s 24th birthday, when she was killed on March 3rd at a resort in Playa del Carmen.

Friesen’s trial begins on August 20th and is expected to end on August 28th. The 27 year old has been in a Mexican prison awaiting trial for the past 16 months.

After Agnew’s body was found, the Secretariat of Public Security in Solidaridad said, it has detained a man after “a lifeless woman was found with possible marks of violence in a hotel located in the Xcalacoco neighborhood.”

Lawyers for the Agnew family said the evidence allegedly showed a struggle and revealed that Kiara fought hard to save her own life.

The lawyers also said the autopsy reports allegedly showed DNA evidence of Kiara’s attacker under her finger nails. The results also reportedly revealed her blood and tissue were found on the body of the accused.

None of the allegations in this story have been proven in a court of law.