CALGARY – Police have charged a man in connection with the city’s most recent homicide after the body of 31-year-old Dawns Baptiste was found in the backyard of a home in Whitehorn on Thursday.
Police arrested Curtis Jade Tyson Healy, 25, on Saturday. He was charged with first-degree murder on Sunday evening.
They say tips from the public helped police track down the suspect, who is alleged to have been with the victim in the hours leading up to her death.
Staff Sgt. Colin Chisholm said police had “no indication” Healy and Baptiste knew each other prior to the murder.
Police allege the two met on Tuesday and spent the evening together traveling to various parts of the city on the CTrain. They got off the train at Whitehorn Station just before midnight, and walked into the community, according to a release from police.
Police believe Baptiste was assaulted and dragged into a nearby yard just after midnight on Wednesday, where she was then sexually assaulted and later succumbed to her injuries.
“It was a very violent scene,” said Chisholm at a Monday afternoon press conference. “We’re hoping that she didn’t suffer for a long period of time.”
Baptiste’s body was discovered about 36 hours later on Thursday.
Healy’s next court appearance is Tuesday.
WATCH BELOW: Candlelight vigil held Sunday in memory of Dawns Baptiste
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