Police are investigating Edmonton’s 34th homicide of 2017 after a woman from Montreal was found dead in an apartment suite in the city’s northeast on Thursday.
On Friday, the medical examiner determined the victim — 29-year-old Valerie Maurice — died as a result of strangulation and her death has been ruled a homicide.
Police said officers responded to a “check on welfare” call at a building in the area of 144 Avenue and 88A Street. They said Maurice’s body was found inside a suite that she did not live in.
According to police, it was a friend of Maurice’s that called them to check on her.
“From my understanding, what we know at this point is that Ms. Maurice frequently visited Edmonton and stayed with friends,” Edmonton Police Service (EPS) spokesperson Noreen Remtulla said on Saturday.
Late Saturday afternoon, a Global News crew saw more than half-a-dozen police cruisers at the residence where Maurice’s body was found, and at one point, police had guns drawn on the unit that had police tape around it a day earlier. Police did not say who they were looking for or who they believed may be in the apartment but the scene de-escalated without anybody emerging from the suite.
Residents told Global News they believe police were looking for a male tenant.
Anyone with information about Maurice’s death is asked to call the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
“If you have information about Ms. Maurice in the city on Thursday or even leading up to that date, or any activities leading up to that, they’d like to hear about it,” Remtulla said.
On Saturday, police said they do not have any suspects in custody.