Accused killer living in Chase under fake name

CHASE – There is disbelief in Chase as residents try to come to terms with the fact a man accused of murder was living in their village.

RCMP members arrested Gordon Shaw in Chase on March 14 in connection to a 2011 murder in Alberta. They say Shaw was using a fake name and had even advertised for work as a handy man.

“I was shocked because he was a really nice guy,” says Bette Carra who knew Shaw as Bob Stenton.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I was shocked because he was a really nice guy," says Bette Carra who knew Shaw as Bob Stenton.

The story of what happened in Chase this week starts in Edmonton in May 2011, when a 70-year-old man was found dead. Later that year Shaw was charged with second degree murder in the senior’s death.

“Shaw was scheduled to appear in court in September of 2014 but failed to appear,” says Edmonton Police Service (EPS) spokesperson, Anna Batchelor.

“A Canada wide warrant was issued for his arrest and over the past year and a half our EPS homicide detectives have been diligently working to locate this individual.”

Read More: Man wanted on Canada-wide warrant for Edmonton homicide

Eventually, he was found in British Columbia.

“They determined he was living in Chase, British Columbia where he had assumed the alias of Bob Stenton and had gone so far to take out an advertisement in the local newspaper advertising himself as handyman ‘Bob the Builder,’” says Batchelor.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They determined he was living in Chase, British Columbia where he had assumed the alias of Bob Stenton and had gone so far to take out an advertisement in the local newspaper advertising himself as handyman 'Bob the Builder,'" says Batchelor.

On Monday B.C. RCMP officers arrested Shaw.

“Shaw, who had been living under an alias for several years now, when arrested on Monday, initially denied being who police were looking for, however within minutes conceded to his true identity and was taken into custody without incident,” wrote RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dan Moskaluk in a statement.

The arrest shocked those in Chase who knew him under a different name, including Dorothy Smith. Smith says he dated her friend and also did some painting at the hotel where she manages the gift shop.

“It’s still a shock to me that you know somebody that is accused of murdering somebody.”

Shaw is expected to face trial in Alberta on the second degree murder charge.