Above: Police have now laid first-degree murder charges in the death of Loretta Saunders, a pregnant Halifax university student who went earlier this month. Ross Lord reports.
HALIFAX – The former roommates of Loretta Saunders have been charged with the Halifax university student’s murder.
Halifax Regional Police charged Victoria Henneberry, 28, and Blake Leggette, 25, with first-degree murder on Thursday, a day after investigators recovered Saunders’ body from a highway median west of Salisbury, N.B.
The pair will appear in Halifax Provincial Court Friday.
Superintendent Jim Perrin of the HRP/RCMP Integrated Criminal Investigation Division said the case was very fluid and there is a reason why investigators charged the pair with first degree murder.
“There has to be some plan to the crime and our investigators are satisfied that exists and that’s why the appropriate charges were laid,” Perrin said.
He also said police believe the homicide occurred at 41 Cowie Hill Road on February 13, the day Saunders was last seen alive.
Perrin declined to comment on a murder weapon and would not say what led investigators to Saunders’ body, citing that the case is now before the courts.
“It was the ongoing efforts and some breaks in the file that we were able to locate the body. We’re happy we did. I can’t imagine what a tragic event this is for the Saunders’ family and friends. We’re happy we’re able to bring us to some sort of conclusion quickly,” he said.
Perrin declined to comment on when Leggette and Henneberry may have left for Ontario and did not elaborate on how much of the couple’s trip they have been able to reconstruct.
He also declined to get into a motive.
Perrin said he does not expect further charges against the pair, who he said were in a relationship, but adds the investigation is still ongoing.
An autopsy will be performed in the coming days.
Henneberry had appeared in court Thursday morning, charged with stealing Saunders’ car.
Saunders’ vehicle turned up in Harrow, Ont., on Feb. 18, five days after she was last seen.
READ MORE: Bail hearing Friday for man charged with stealing Loretta Saunders’ car
Ontario police arrested Henneberry and Leggette, and the pair was brought back to Halifax.
Saunders, a 26-year-old Saint Mary’s University student originally from Labrador, was pregnant at the time she disappeared.
Investigators declared her disappearance a homicide Wednesday afternoon, shortly before her body was located, at about 4:30 p.m. on a median along Trans-Canada Highway Route 2.
WATCH: Opposition MPs want action in wake of Loretta Saunders murder
Volunteers who have been helping the family spoke to the media late Wednesday night.
“It was not the outcome we wanted but at least we all know,” said Cheryl Maloney, president of the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association.
Maloney was surrounded by eight other women who also volunteered in the search to find Saunders.
She declined to comment on how Saunders’ family is coping with the news.
“I’d rather just leave them in their time. They need their time,” she said
The group said they were overwhelmed by the generosity and support of the Halifax community, many of whom help put up posters, donated time or resources and raised money for the family.
“Loretta became something to us, not just as volunteers, but to the city, the province and to the public. People really stepped up and they all fell in love with this girl,” Maloney said.
“Every poster, every act of kindness people have shown, taking on some of the pressure for the family, we shared their pain. We’re sharing their grief. They’re just an amazing group of people and it was an amazing effort the city put forth.”
Saunders was set to graduate from Saint Mary’s University in May, She had been working on a thesis about missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Maloney said Saunders’ case shows just how at risk aboriginal women are in Canada.
“She wasn’t what society expected for a missing girl, a missing aboriginal girl. She was a young university student, a young bright masters student. This is not what everyone expects but she is at risk. She is vulnerable. Every aboriginal girl in this country is vulnerable.”
Maloney called on all levels of government to recognize and acknowledge the crisis of missing aboriginal men and women.
“I’m never going to let Stephen Harper or Canadians forget about Loretta. Loretta and all the other missing and murdered aboriginal people,” she said.
Video: Calls are intensifying in Halifax for a public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal men and women. Julia Wong reports.
Saint Mary’s University posted the following statement on its website late Wednesday night:
Saint Mary’s University sends its deepest condolences to the family of Loretta Saunders on their tragic loss. No words can express the depth of sorrow felt in the loss of Loretta from our community. She will be greatly missed.
We will continue to support Loretta’s family through this very difficult time.
*With files from Brett Ruskin and Brion Robinson
Comments