Photo: Contributed

Wade Cudmore, right, and his late mother Kathy Richardson.

A preliminary inquiry is underway in Penticton in the case of two dead brothers found in Naramata last spring.

Wade Cudmore is charged with first degree murder in relation to the deaths of Carlo and Erick Fryer, of Kamloops, whose bodies were found in a remote Naramata location in May 2021.

He appeared via video from the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Penticton court on Tuesday morning.

The preliminary inquiry, which is covered by a routine publication ban, tests the Crown's case before a judge to ensure it is sufficient enough to make it to trial.

Cudmore was charged with first-degree murder for the deaths alongside Anthony Graham, who remains at large.

The preliminary inquiry is scheduled to run for seven days.

RCMP continue to investigate the murder of Cudmore's mother, Kathy Richardson, after she was found dead at her Naramata home in June 2021, one month after the Fryers' bodies were discovered.

Cudmore is not charged in relation to that crime.