A murder charge has been made in a Saskatchewan cold case.
Katelyn Marie Noble was last seen on Aug. 27, 2007 in the Radisson, Sask., area.
The British Columbia teen was 15 at the time of her disappearance in Saskatchewan.
On Tuesday, the RCMP Saskatchewan major crimes historical case unit arrested Eduard Viktorovit Baranec and charged him with first-degree murder and offering an indignity to a human body.
Baranec, 41, is currently serving a life sentence in the 2007 death of a B.C. woman.
RCMP are not releasing many details into what led up to the arrest of Baranec now that the case is before the court.
In a statement, the RCMP said the investigation into Noble’s death was extensive and complex, and spanned the country from Ontario to B.C.
“It has been a long and stressful period for her family and today, investigators hope these developments begin to provide Katelyn’s family with some measure of comfort.”
Matthew Nathanson, Baranec’s lawyer, said this is a serious charge and he will defend his client in court, not in the media.
“Although this is clearly a serious matter, it is important to remember that my client is presumed to be innocent,” Nathanson said in a statement to Global News.
“We intend to defend him in court, rather than in the media.”
WATCH: Six years after her disappearance, Katelyn Noble’s mother returned in 2013 to the area where she went missing to search for clues – and closure.
Baranec appeared by video Wednesday morning in Saskatoon provincial court and will make his next appearance on Oct. 16.
In October 2016, a New Westminster, B.C., jury found Baranec guilty of first-degree murder in the 2007 stabbing death of Amanpreet Kaur Bahia.
Baranec was hired to carry out the killing described as “violent and brutal” by police, court heard.
Two of the woman’s three children were in the home at the time of the fatal attack. Her one-year-old daughter was found crying beside her body.
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Police said at the time of her disappearance that Katelyn had not been in contact with her family or friends in Mission, B.C.
Noble moved from Mission to Radisson in late 2006 to live with her boyfriend. The pair shared a home with Baranec.
A number of searches were conducted in the Radisson area.
Her mother, Leona Noble, made multiple trips to Saskatchewan to help look for any sign of her daughter.
She said during one visit in 2013 that she simply wanted to take Katelyn home.
– With files from Jon Azpiri, Yuliya Talmazan, Julia Foy and The Canadian Press
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