Updated Thursday, July 5 at 8:34 a.m.
HALIFAX – RCMP will charge two suspects with first degree-murder in the death of Melissa Dawn Peacock, a Halifax-area woman missing since last November.
The 20-year-old was last heard from the night of Nov. 7, 2011 after leaving her Dartmouth home and sending a text message to her mother, Ruth Slaunwhite, saying she was going to the country.
Slaunwhite told Global News in December the text message read: “I don’t want to but I’m going to the country for the night. I’ll be back in the morning. My buddy decided to go somewhere. I want to come back, but we’re somewhere. I’m sorry I wish I were home.”
Her family didn’t hear from her again and reported her missing Nov. 9.
Now, 24-year-old Dustan Joseph Preeper and Joshua Michael Preeper, 20, have been arrested and will be charged with murder Wednesday afternoon in Truro Provincial Court. Dustan Preeper is also facing second-degree-murder in the death of Ben Hare of Truro, in July 2010. Police say the two men are related, but cannot reveal their relationship due to the privacy act.
Dustan Preeper was charged in Hare’s death previously, after the 26-year-old was found dead outside an apartment building, but the charges were later withdrawn. Read more here
Peacock’s last known location was in the Gore area, about 60 kilometres west of Halifax.
Police located human remains during a search of a property in Colchester County, N.S., believed to be those of Peacock. Investigators remain on the scene, in a rural location where the remains were found.
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View an interactive map of key locations in the Peacock and Hare murder cases
The arrest comes after Nova Scotia’s Department of Justice added her missing person case to its major rewards list on May 18, offering a $150,000 to anyone who could offer information that would help investigators.
At the time, Mounties said they believed Peacock had met with foul play.
Justice Minister Ross Landry was on hand at a news conference at the RCMP headquarters in Halifax Wednesday morning: It’s the first time the program has led to an arrest in a major investigation.
Peacock’s family were not on hand for the announcement. RCMP say the family is very upset and has asked for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
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