Edmonton police charge man with murder in 1996 killing of 24-year-old Cree woman
CBC
A man has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of a woman found strangled in her northeast Edmonton apartment more than 26 years ago.
Edmonton police have charged Brayan Boucher, 48, in the December 1996 killing of Joanne Ghostkeeper, 24.
In a statement Thursday, police said a re-examination of DNA evidence last year led to a charge in the historical homicide — a development that investigators hope will provide closure to Ghostkeeper's family.
Ghostkeeper was found dead on Dec. 25, 1996, inside her apartment at 119th Avenue and 34th Street in the Abbottsfield neighbourhood.
The Cree mother of two from Sucker Creek First Nation, near Lesser Slave Lake, Alta., had been strangled with a telephone cord.
Police had been called after she failed to show up for Christmas dinner at her mother's house.
Ghostkeeper's death was a deemed a homicide shortly after her body was found but no charge was laid until now.
The case has been under investigation by the Edmonton police historical homicide unit for years. Over the decades, Ghostkeeper's family has pleaded for information on her killer.
Ghostkeeper's mother, Mary Willier, told CBC on Thursday that police told her about the arrest earlier this week at her home in the community of Driftpile Cree Nation, 320 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
"When the detectives came and told me, it was just like something lifted out of me ... lifted away," she said.
"I hope he doesn't walk on the other side of the walls again, because he did his 27 years of walking. I think he shouldn't be walking out of jail."
Willier said she hopes to attend future court dates in the case.
"She was a kind person," Willier said of her daughter. "And I'm not saying that because she's gone. She was a kind, helpful person."
Willier raised Ghostkeeper's son and daughter, who are now in their 30s. She said knowing someone has been charged brings her some peace after nearly three decades with no answers.
A Brampton lawyer allegedly connected to fugitive Ryan Wedding was granted bail Tuesday morning by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.
Jason Jacques says he learned a lot about the importance of choosing his words carefully in his first few months as the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO).
Durham police say a man is dead after suffering multiple stab wounds in Oshawa Tuesday morning.
An internal review of technical outages that caused significant delays at airports and international land borders this fall has exposed critical flaws with the Canada Border Services Agency's IT services.
Two people are in life-threatening condition after being pulled from a house fire in Scarborough Tuesday morning, according to Toronto Fire Services.
Whenever the door opens at the British Grenadier Bookshop, proprietor Steve Douglas doesn’t know who is going to walk through.
A northeastern Ontario potato farmer says he’s shipping more bags of potatoes to southern Ontario to make up for waning demand.
Halifax’s registry of rental properties is now available to the public online, showing what HRM staff believe are the “bulk” of rentals in the city.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.