The boyfriend of a Paradise woman murdered last week told CBC News he had nothing to do with her death.

The body of 53-year-old Patricia Rice was found in a field off Topsail Road one week ago.

Patricia Rice was reported missing before her body was found in a field near a subdivision in Paradise, just off Topsail Road. (CBC )

George Carberry said he and Rice went for a walk in the early hours of last Tuesday, around 3 a.m.

Rice, like Carberry, was a heavy smoker. He said they ran out of cigarettes, and decided to walk to a local bar to look for cigarette butts. He says he last saw her in the parking lot.

"And when I got back, like I said, she was nowhere to be seen," Carberry said.

Rice's body was discovered the next day, not far from the bar.

Police say the case is now a homicide investigation.

Carberry maintains he had nothing to do with Rice's death, but knows people view him as a possible suspect.

"Of course I know that," he said. "That's why I have to go now on Saturday to do the lie detector. They asked me if I would. Of course, I will."

Police are not saying how Rice died, or whether they have a suspect. Carberry said police have not shared any information from their investigation.

"I have been going over this in my mind ever since that night, since she went missing — if there was something that I could have done differently, would she still be here?" he said.

Rice and Carberry were a couple for 20 years.