The Saskatchewan RCMP has charged Charles St. Savard with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance and death of Tiki Laverdiere.
St. Savard, a 33-year-old man from Edmonton, is the ninth person charged in the homicide investigation, which has lasted more than a year. So far, two people have been sentenced and the charges against the six remaining suspects are before the courts.
RCMP said in a statement the major crimes unit recently received new information that brought investigators to Edmonton and North Battleford, where they have been working for the past two weeks.
Edmonton police arrested St. Savard in that city on July 10. He has been returned to North Battleford, where he remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in provincial court on July 13.
Tiki Laverdiere, 25, was reported missing on May 1, 2019.
She had travelled to North Battleford from Edmonton to attend the funeral of Tristen Cook-Buckle, another homicide victim.
Her body was found outside the city on July 11, 2019.
Last May, Brent Checkosis, 19, and Mavis Takakenew, 55, were both sentenced for being an accessory after the fact to murder.
Checkosis has also been charged with improperly interfering with a human body and theft of a motor vehicle.
Five women face first-degree murder charges in Laverdiere’s death. Nikita Sandra Cook, Nicole Cook, Soaring Eagle Whitstone, Shayla Orthner and Danita Thomas also face charges of kidnapping and improperly interfering with a human body.