Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect rank for Insp. Breanne Brown. We regret the error.
A 47-year-old cold case has been solved using DNA genealogy tech and charges have been laid in connection with the death of Pauline Brazeau.
On Jan. 9, 1976, 16-year-old Brazeau was last seen leaving a restaurant in Calgary in the area of 7 Street and 17 Avenue Southwest in the early hours of the morning.
Her body was found hours later near Cochrane. An autopsy deemed her death was the result of homicide.
RCMP historical homicide investigators teamed up with members of the Calgary Police Service cold case homicide unit and used Othram Inc., a private forensic lab in the United States, to investigate the file.
“With the advancements in DNA technology, the police are now able to use investigative genetic genealogy to help identify investigative leads,” RCMP Supt. David Hall said.
The CPS worked with two genealogists at Convergence Investigative Genetic Genealogy and, earlier this year, identified a suspect.
On Tuesday, police arrested 73-year-old Ronald James Edwards of Sundre, Alta.
“Edwards has been charged with murder as it was defined in the Criminal Code in 1976,” Hall said. “At that time, Canadian law classified murder as either capital or non-capital murder and as such, Edwards has been charged with non-capital murder.”
Edwards was remanded into custody following an interim release hearing and is due to appear in court on Nov. 14.
“While certainly we have a measure of feeling that this is a success, that’s tempered by the fact that we recognize that this is a tragic event in the 1970s,” Hall said.
“It has remained a tragic event for Pauline’s family over time.”
RCMP said Edwards’ name hadn’t come up during previous investigations.
“He was not known to Pauline, that we could determine, prior to this,” RCMP Insp. Breanne Brown said.
CPS Supt. Ryan Ayliffe said investigators “never wavered” in their desire to solve the case of Brazeau, a new Métis mother who had moved to Calgary from Saskatchewan months before her death.
“Pauline’s case is an example of what can happen when investigators are determined to hold people accountable and get justice and closure for a victim’s family,” Ayliffe said. “It shows that no case is ever too old to be looked at in a different way. And it’s never too late for new information to emerge, especially as advancements in technology are made.”
The RCMP said Brazeau’s family is asking for privacy at this time.
“Our investigators have been in touch with Pauline’s family and have updated them on this development,” Hall said.