Adam Dudoward died in a trailer in 2000 after being tied to a bed by his mother and stepfather and left for days. ((Wayne Dudoward))

A B.C. man convicted in absentia last week in connection with the 2000 death of his young stepson has been arrested in the province’s southern Interior.

Lloyd Cook was not in court in Prince George Friday when a judge found him guilty of unlawful confinement and interference with the dead body of 13-year-old Adam William Dudoward.

Cook, who did not show up for his trial, was taken into custody at a home in Osoyoos Monday and will be returned to Prince George for sentencing, police said.

Cook had originally also been charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.

The court heard that Dudoward died in January 2000 after his mother, Judy Williams, and Cook, her common-law partner at the time, tied him up to a bed in their trailer home.

After a few days, Cook and Williams found the boy’s lifeless body where they’d left him, court was told.

Kept body in trunk

The couple did not call 911, but wrapped the body in a blanket and kept it in the trunk of a vehicle for several weeks.

They eventually buried the body in a shallow grave outside Prince George without reporting the death to authorities.

Lloyd Cook is in custody after being arrested in Osoyoos. (RCMP)

In 2004, after the relationship with Cook broke down, the boy’s mother went to the RCMP and told them what had happened to her son.

The grave was dug up and the remains, which had been reduced to just a few bones, were identified as those of the boy.

The judge in the case said he could not find Cook guilty of manslaughter because the cause of the boy’s death could not be determined.

The boy’s mother pleaded guilty to interference with a dead body and was sentenced to two years house arrest.

For Cook, the Crown is seeking two consecutive sentences of two to three years. The defence is asking for a sentence of 18 months.