A Canadian couple charged with first-degree murder in the “violent” death of 32-year-old Sina Parsi after a countrywide manhunt last summer will now also face child pornography offences.
Niagara Regional police arrested Clyde Marshall, 37, of Saint John, N.B., and Sabrina Chouart, 28, of Gatineau, Que., at a Walmart Store in Niagara Falls on the evening of June 22 after almost two weeks on the run and charged them with first degree murder.
Parsi, 32, of Vaughan, went missing on June 9 after leaving a soccer game. His body was found on June 12 in a Toronto apartment near Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue West. Police would not elaborate on cause of death, other than to say it was “violent.”
READ MORE: Couple charged with first degree murder in death of Sina Parsi
Police released surveillance footage of the couple that showed the two suspects walking with Parsi on Jane Street just after midnight on June 10. Patterson said the suspects left the building at 4:10 a.m., with Parsi’s body allegedly left inside.
The footage showed Parsi surveying his surroundings before he entered the apartment with the two suspects, but added that he had “willingly” gone with them inside.
Police alleged that Marshall did have a connection to drugs and drug trafficking, but could not provide any specific information on that aspect of the investigation.
WATCH: Couple arrested for murder of Vaughan man Sina Parsi make first court appearance
Investigators later said that a large-breed dog belonging to the suspects was found abandoned in Toronto and Parsi’s 2012 black Dodge Ram pickup truck was found June 11 at 1:15 a.m. in a parking lot near Jane Street and Alliance Avenue.
Police followed up on hundreds of tips related to sightings of the two suspects before they were located and had warned the public not to pick up hitchhikers and to report suspicious activity such as thefts from backyard sheds, trailers, cottages and vehicles.
Police in Vancouver and Winnipeg had followed up on reports that the two may be in their jurisdictions, and Toronto police said there had been reported sightings of the pair in northern and eastern Ontario before their arrest.
READ MORE: Toronto Police release footage of murder victim’s final interaction with suspects
On Friday, police announced the couple would be facing new charges in a separate investigation, after the couple was allegedly found to be in possession of, and accessed, child sexual abuse images.
While already in custody, police charged Chouart and Marshall with one count each of possessing child pornography and accessing child pornography.
The couple was scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on Friday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at http://www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).
Reporting can also be made at Canada’s National Tip Line for Reporting the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children at CyberTip.ca.
WATCH: Surveillance video shows Sina Parsi walking with the two suspects charged in his death
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