A 17-year-old male has been charged with second-degree murder after a 73-year-old man was killed in a house fire on the Canoe Lake Cree Nation last week.
The teen is facing the charge in connection with the death of James Durocher on Feb. 17.
The suspect was to remain in custody at least until his first court appearance on Tuesday in Patuanak.
RCMP are not releasing any details in the case.
A Durocher family member, however, said the day after the fire that he suspected foul play. Nephew Joe Durocher did not identify anyone being investigated but told The StarPhoenix that suspects were caught on a security tape at a local bar where his uncle’s missing vehicle was found.
Joe Durocher and some friends went out to see his uncle Thursday at around 7:30 p.m. When they arrived, the house was on fire. They immediately started trying to put it out.
"His car wasn’t there, so naturally we assumed he wasn’t home," said Durocher.
One of his friends went into the house to shut off the power and found the body.
RCMP said officers responded to the fire at 8:15 p.m., finding the body after local crews put the blaze out.
The RCMP major crimes unit has worked the investigation alongside Canoe Lake RCMP, North Battleford RCMP’s forensic identification unit and a police dog section.
An autopsy is scheduled for this week.
Canoe Lake is located about 470 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.