EDITOR’S NOTE: On Oct. 2, 2023, the RCMP issued a news release to correct the name of the accused in the case. This article has been updated to include the corrected name.
The RCMP major crime unit identified a man who was found in a Fort McMurray basement and confirmed his death was a homicide.
Shortly before 8 a.m. last Thursday, Wood Buffalo RCMP said a suspicious death was reported at a home in the Timberlea neighbourhood of Fort McMurray.
Police said a 43-year-old man was found in his basement suite with suspicious injuries.
In an update given on Sept. 29, Matthew Thomas Cooper, a 39-year-old resident of Fort McMurray, was charged with second-degree murder of the 43-year-old resident of Fort McMurray, said RCMP.
The RCMP major crime unit was called in. An autopsy was done in Edmonton at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Monday, and it determined the death was a homicide.
The man has been identified as Norman Lineham, 43, of Fort McMurray.
The major crime unit will investigate the death with the help of Wood Buffalo RCMP’s general investigation section and forensic identification section.