Three people have been charged with murder and arson after a man’s body was found in the rubble of a fire in central Alberta last week.
Wetaskiwin RCMP were called just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday to a house fire on a rural property in the Usona district, which is on the west side of the QEII highway in the County of Wetaskiwin.
The next day, human remains were found and taken to the medical examiner’s office in Edmonton, where RCMP said an autopsy was completed on Friday.
The results of the autopsy are pending, however, three people have since been charged by the RCMP major crimes unit.
Linden Buffalo, 31, and Jake Green, 36 of Maskwacis and Donovan Lightning, 28, of nearby Wetaskiwin have all been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Clifford Stauffer.
All three are also facing arson with disregard for human life charges.
Police said Lightning, Green and Buffalo will all remain in custody until their court appearance on June 29.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Wetaskiwin RCMP detachment at 780-312-7267.
Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online.