B.C. man accused of 1987 killing of Edmonton senior
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | 5:13 PM MT
CBC News
A man from British Columbia who wasn't identified as a suspect until September has been charged with second-degree murder in the 1987 fatal beating of 83-year-old Lillian Berube in Edmonton.
Charles William Abou, 41, also faces other charges, including breaking-and-entering.
In early September, police received information that prompted them to review the case, Det. Brad Mandrusiak said.
"There was an extensive investigation that was done back in 1987 by the Edmonton Police Service, where there were ... several suspects that were identified and ultimately cleared," he said. "None of the suspects that had been identified at that point in time was the accused in this particular case."
While forensic testing led police to make an arrest, Mandrusiak was reluctant to say if DNA evidence was involved, because the case is now before the courts.
"But I would say this," he said. "In these particular cases, historical homicides in particular, with the passage of time relationships change, there are advances in scientific technology that will allow us and afford us the ability to move some of these older, tougher cases forward."
Berube, who lived on her own, died in hospital just days after she confronted someone who broke into her home at 116 Avenue and 90th Street in August 1987. The case horrifed people in Edmonton at the time.
Berube didn't know her attacker, police said. While police believe the accused was in Edmonton at the time, he had no fixed address, Mandrusiak said.
Abou had been serving time in a B.C. prison at the time of his arrest. He was brought to the Edmonton remand centre this week and is expected to make his first appearance in court Friday.
