A 22-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the 2010 death of Jennifer Stewart.

Stewart, a 36-year-old prostitute, was found dead in a Vanier parking lot in August of that year. Police said she had been stabbed multiple times.

Adrian Daou, 22, was charged on Tuesday and appeared in court wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt, looking downcast. He was remanded into custody and will make another court appearance on March 7.

Jennifer Stewart's death and the deaths of five other women linked to the sex trade prompted a public warning from police. (Ottawa Police Services)

Insp. John Maxwell said the accused was already in custody at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre and approached police to confess to the crimes. Investigators said the accused knew details of Stewart's death that only someone who was there would know.

Daou's lawyer Bob Carew would not confirm whether his client had confessed.

The investigation into Stewart's death and the unsolved deaths of five other women prompted former police chief Vern White to issue a warning in 2011 to sex-trade workers about what they called a pattern of violence.

The arrest also comes three weeks after another man, 56-year-old Marc Leduc, was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Pamela Kosmack, 39, and Leeanne Lawson, 23.

Investigators with Gatineau police are also reaching out to Ottawa police to check if there is a connection between Daou and the death of Kelly Morrisseau in December 2006.

Police spokesman Pierre Lanthier said that is a normal procedure when suspects are found in related cases.