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‘It’s a shock’: Alberta man who knows mother, son charged in Tofield man’s homicide speaks out

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Alberta man who knows mother, son charged in Tofield man’s homicide speaks out
WATCH ABOVE: The remains of an Alberta farmer- who went missing six years ago - have now been found and three family members have been charged in connection with his death. As Kim Smith reports, the charges come as a shock to a central Alberta community – Sep 9, 2017

A man says he is shocked to learn a woman who rents and lives in a house he owns in central Alberta has – along with her son – been charged with first-degree murder in connection with her husband’s death.

“It’s a shock to the system,” Guy Turnbull said on Saturday. “[I] never thought this in a million years. I knew them both for 10, 12 years now.”

Turnbull was referring to Helen Naslund, 52, and her son Neil Naslund, 25, who police said Friday have been charged with first-degree murder and causing indignity to human remains in connection with the death of her husband and his father, Miles Naslund.

Miles, a 49-year-old farmer from Tofield, was reported missing over six years ago when he didn’t come home from work. The RCMP eventually received information that “evidence of the homicide” may be found on Naslund’s property and on Sept. 1, officers executed a search warrant on the farm, which turned up human remains that were later confirmed to be Miles Naslund.

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Another son of the Naslunds, Wes Naslund, 32, has been charged with one count of accessory after the fact to murder.

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READ MORE: Wife, sons charged in Tofield man’s 2011 murder

Turnbull told Global News he bought the Naslund farm, 20 kilometres south of Holden, Alta., in March.

“Helen has worked for me for years,” Turnbull said. “Miles worked for me up in [Fort] McMurray. The boys have worked for me off and on.
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“I have nothing bad to say. They never did me no wrong.”

Police haven’t said exactly where the remains were found but an underwater dive team was brought in and Turnbull said there is a dugout across from the house.

Kevin Smook, the reeve of Beaver County, said the Naslunds were known in the community and the news of the charges has shocked area residents.

“I know that this person had gone missing back in 2011 and the community didn’t really know what to think,” he said on Saturday. “Now that the body’s been discovered and charges are being laid, that’s a real shocker to the area.”

Both Helen Naslund and Neil Naslund remain in custody and are scheduled to be back in Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Court on Oct. 26.

Wes Naslund is set to appear in Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton.

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