Police say additional evidence helped them make an arrest in a decades-old murder case in Calgary.
Investigators charged a former roommate of Daniel Boysis, who was also known as Daniel Morgan Turner, in connection with his death more than 20 years ago.
They said the pair had met in northwestern Alberta and had known each other for several months at the time of his disappearance.
Police allege he fatally attacked Boysis and disposed of his body.
Randolph Edward Westman, 57, was living in Edmonton but was arrested while visiting Calgary on March 6, 2018.
He’s been charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a human body.
Boysis, who was 22 years old at the time, was last seen at his home in Falconridge on Dec. 1, 1996.
Police launched a homicide investigation two years later after witnesses came forward with information that led investigators to suspect “foul play.”
WATCH: Review of case led to arrest in decades-old homicide.
Boysis’ body was never found and eventually, the case went cold.
Investigators don’t believe his remains will ever be found.
“At this point, we do not believe there is a strong likelihood that we are going to receive any body parts,” Staff Sgt. Colin Chisholm said in a Wednesday news conference.
Chisholm said Boysis was living a “somewhat transient” lifestyle and had lost contact with his family. He was not reported missing until witnesses finally came forward in 1998.
“Unfortunately, people do lose contact with their families,” Chisholm said.
“They’re glad to know what happened to him but at the same time, to learn that he’s murdered is difficult for the family.”
Chisholm said while Boysis’ body was never recovered, DNA collected in 1998 helped police in the investigation.
He said Westman had been a suspect in 1998 but there wasn’t enough evidence to support a charge.
“Sometimes time is a hindrance to an investigation and sometimes time is beneficial to an investigation,” Chisholm said.
“There are times when people’s allegiances change; people’s motivation to come forward changes,” he added, explaining why new evidence can come to light years after a crime goes cold.
Chisholm said Wednesday he could not comment on the type of evidence that led to a break in this case.
He said Westman is known to police throughout Alberta but “not for anything in relation to this type of violence.”
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