Deaths at Saint John hotel last year a murder-suicide: police

Saint John Police have confirmed the deaths of two people who were found in a hotel room last February was a murder-suicide.

Police made the announcement on Wednesday, nearly a year after the discovery.

READ MORE: Two suspicious deaths at Saint John hotel being investigated by police

Sgt. Jay Henderson, head of the major crime unit, said both died from gunshot wounds.

“The victim was a 22-year-old female from Western Canada. The other individual was a 26-year-old male also from Western Canada,” he told reporters.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The victim was a 22-year-old female from Western Canada. The other individual was a 26-year-old male also from Western Canada," he told reporters.

He said the two were boyfriend and girlfriend, and neither of them had any connection to New Brunswick.

The bodies were found in a room at the Best Western Plus Saint John Hotel & Suites on Majors Brook Drive on Feb. 28, 2017.

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Police said there were two dogs in the room and their barking alerted people to check the room.

Officers also found illicit drugs in the room, including what is believed to be cocaine. Police are also still trying to trace the owner of the gun used in the murder-suicide.

Police said it took nearly a year to conclude it was a murder-suicide because they were waiting for forensic results.

WATCH: Saint John Police investigating hotel deaths

1:24 Saint John Police release more details in hotel deaths

“We had to get experts from the  laboratory in Halifax to do ballistics, which we just recently got back last week,” said Henderson.

Saint John Police Chief John Bates admits they had a hypothesis as to what happened in that hotel room, but they wanted to make certain.

“We were going to be telling one family that their child had been murdered and we were going to be telling another family that their their loved one had committed a murder,” Bates said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We were going to be telling one family that their child had been murdered and we were going to be telling another family that their their loved one had committed a murder," Bates said.

“You better be darn certain about what you’re saying before you go public with that kind of information.”

With a file from Andrew Cromwell

Follow @RebeccaLau