Ontario Provincial Police lay murder charge in 50 year old case

J

jimintoronto

Well-known Member
The people of the very isolated northern Ontario village of Attawapiaskat have been shocked to learn that a 50 year old rape and murder case has resulted in a local man being charged by the Ontario Provincial Police in the death of a 21 year old woman in October of 1973. The case was investigated in 1973, but no charges were ever laid. The forensic evidence was preserved at the Ontario Center for Forensic Science.

Advances in DNA testing have resulted in the arrest of 78 year old Remi Gregory Lahtail , who has lived in the village all of his life. He is charged under the 1973 Criminal Code offences Act. In Canada there is no statute of limitations on murder charges. He will stand trial in the new year. This information was made public by the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch.

Imagine this guy living in the village for 50 years, knowing what he did to a young girl so long ago. The village has a population of less than 500 people. Technical advances have once again caught up to a person who thought "they had got away with it ".

link to OPP press release. MSN

JimB.
 

There is a Netflix series called Crime Beat, the series has cases about crimes in Canada. I'm impressed with the way Canadian police don't give up in trying to solve cases so the families know who did the crime.
 
Knight said:
There is a Netflix series called Crime Beat, the series has cases about crimes in Canada. I'm impressed with the way Canadian police don't give up in trying to solve cases so the families know who did the crime.
Click to expand...
One of the advantages that Police here in Canada have is the CPIC system. The Canadian Police Information Center is a nation wide computer system that links EVERY Police service in Canada to all the others in real time. Individual Police services can also apply for extra funding to hire non Police technical experts, and also pay for the costs of DNA testing on heritage type sites. That was how this case in Attawapaskat was solved. One of the accused man's relatives submitted a sample to 23 and ME, and that sample was linked to the DNA on the preserved 1978 evidence articles.

A second advantage is the funding for Police in Canada is a top priority. Even small towns can ask the Provincial Government for support and assistance , and be sure it will be forthcoming. JImB.
 
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