A Vancouver man accused of murder in a decades-old cold-case stabbing in Ontario is back in B.C. after being freed on bail. Lawrence Diehl, 73, is charged with second-degree murder in the April 1996 death of 22-year-old Christopher Smith. Smith was fatally stabbed on the Portage bridge that separates Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. while walking home with his cousin after a night out. The case went cold for years, but advances in DNA science led police to Diehl — who was arrested in Vancouver in December. Diehl has now been released after posting a $2 million bond. Criminal lawyer Ravi Hira, K.C., who is not connected with the case, said it is rare but not impossible for murder suspects to be granted bail. Someone charged with murder must show the court they are not a flight risk, that they are not a risk to re-offend while on bail, and that letting them out would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. “Usually in these circumstances, if you have no record, you are an older person, you’ve got a family and support systems, you’ve got a house, and you have otherwise led for scores of years a decent life, you can be a candidate for bail,” Hira said. “It appears he satisfied the Ontario Superior Court justice that he wasn’t a flight risk, he wouldn’t be committing more crimes and it wouldn’t bring the administration of justice into disrepute.” Under the conditions of his bail, Diehl must wear a GPS monitoring unit at his own expense. He was required to hand over his passport to police and is banned from having any contact with the victim’s family or witnesses. No one answered the door at Diehl’s Kerrisdale home on Monday when Global News knocked. Neighbours have told Global News that Diehl and his wife had lived for more than two decades in the home, recently assessed at $3.25 million. Diehl served on Canada Soccer’s Board of Directors for B.C. between 1998 and 2002. He also served as president of BC Soccer over the same period and has been honoured as a BC Soccer Life member. Diehl holds degrees from the University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta and worked as a meteorologist for the Government of Canada between 1973 and 1980.