Stephane Parent remains in custody, court case put over a month for 2002 death of Adrienne McColl

A Quebec man charged with the second-degree murder of his girlfriend nearly 20 years ago made a brief court appearance Tuesday morning.

Stephane Parent, 49, appeared via closed-circuit television (CCTV) from the Calgary Remand Centre.

Parent was arrested and charged with the murder 16 years to the day after Adrienne McColl’s body was found in a farmer’s field south of Calgary.

The case has been put over until March 20 to allow time for disclosure from the RCMP.

Watch below from Feb. 19: Detectives say advances in technology led them to a suspect in a 16-year-old cold case. Tracy Nagai reports.

2:09 RCMP charge suspect in 16-year-old cold case

McColl went missing on Valentine’s Day 2002 and was found days later in a field by a Nanton-area rancher.

Parent and McColl lived and worked together in Calgary.

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Parent was arrested in Quebec and was flown to Calgary Monday, where he remains in custody.

RCMP said in the days following McColl’s death, Parent bought a one-way ticket from Calgary to Ottawa. He has lived in Ontario and Quebec ever since.

READ MORE: New technology helping with 16-year-old cold case in southern Alberta

Police said advancements in forensic technologies permitted them to discover new evidence in the cold case.

“Sensitivity in DNA technology has really advanced in the past several years, so that’s what we’re seeing—not only in this case but other homicides,” RCMP Supt. Garrett Woolsey said.

READ MORE: Cold Case – A look inside the Alberta RCMP’s Historical Homicide Unit