Ottawa Police have made an arrest in the murder of Jennifer Teague, 18, whose body was found in a wooded area in the west end of the city last September.

Kevin Davis, 24, of Ottawa, was charged with first-degree murder on Tuesday.

Jennifer Teague's body was found in a wooded area in Ottawa's west end last September.

Teague disappeared after she worked an evening shift at a Wendy's restaurant in the Barrhaven neighbourhood on Sept 7.

An off-duty police officer found her body 11 days later beside a trail near Moodie Drive, about five kilometres from the restaurant.

Police Chief Vince Bevan took the unusual step on Tuesday of spelling out in detail how Davis confessed to the murder.

The chief's statement appears on the Ottawa Police Services website.

Started behaving strangely

In it, he said Davis began to behave strangely on June 9 after apparently ingesting psilocybin (magic mushrooms).

"Police responded when motorists reported Davis was naked, and was nearly hit by cars on Fallowfield Road," Bevan said.

"During this episode, Davis apparently repeated several times that he was responsible for killing Jennifer Teague."

Bevan said Davis was treated in hospital and then interviewed by police, at which time he denied any involvement in the case.

"On June 26, 2006, the accused person Kevin Davis approached several neighbours and reported that he had murdered Jennifer Teague and he needed help, encouraging these persons to call police," Bevan said. 

"Davis then walked to a nearby shopping area in Barrhaven where he encountered an off-duty police officer. Davis announced to the officer that he had murdered Jennifer Teague. As a result Davis was further interviewed."

Bevan said Davis then made several statements to officers, including apologizing for lying by not taking responsibility, in earlier interviews, for murdering Jennifer Teague.

'Only be known to the killer'

"Davis provided a full account of his murder of Jennifer Teague, including several details that would only be known to the killer. Davis appeared to be coherent and was not under the influence of any substances," Bevan said.

Police said Tuesday that Davis was a neighbour of Teague's at the time of her murder. In fact, they said, he was interviewed by police on Sept. 10, just two days after Jennifer's disappearance, but denied knowing anything about it.

At that time, police said, they had no reason to connect him with the crime. He wasn't a friend or even an acquaintance, according to police and the Teague family. He was just a neighbour whom they recognized when he passed on the street.

In April of this year, police confirmed that her death had been a sexually motivated crime. They said very little about the evidence that led to that conclusion and they would not confirm if she had been sexually assaulted.

In May, they created a website of photographs gathered from the convenience store security camera where she was last seen. They said people in the pictures were potential witnesses.
Police have produced a composite sketch of a "person of interest" in the case. It's based on a witness account received in April.

The witness had spotted a man on foot in the headlights of his car while driving down Moodie Drive in the early morning of Sept. 8, 2005, a few hours after Teague went missing.

He took a long time to report the sighting to police because he didn't think it was significant. Police only learned of the witness during an interview with another witness who suggested they speak to him.

The witness told police he clearly remembered the man because he was struck by the odd time of day and the strangeness of a person on foot in such a remote area.

Davis is scheduled for a court appearance Friday.