RCMP announce arrest in 5-year-long murder investigation

RCMP announced Tuesday they have charged a 53-year-old man in connection to the 2011 death of Carol King.

Joseph David Caissie, King’s ex-boyfriend, was arrested Tuesday morning near the SaskTel Centre. He’s charged with first-degree murder and offering an indignity to a body.

At a press conference held at the RCMP building in Saskatoon, Staff Sgt. Murray Chamberlain read a short statement from King’s family:

“We are extremely sad, but extremely happy at the same time and have a sense of relief knowing that charges have been laid,” he read.

Carol’s mother, Yvonne King said she was still in shock when CKOM News contacted her Wednesday morning at her home in Mattis Point, Newfoundland.

Yvonne said she was still processing the news and wasn’t ready yet to speak to media.

King, 40, went missing near her farm in Herschel, Sask. — located around 36 kilometres northwest of Rosetown — nearly five years ago.

She was last seen on Aug. 6, 2011. Four days later, her car was found in a slough just east of her farm.

In the weeks that followed, dozens of volunteers searched the Herschel area looking for King; candlelight vigils were held in her honour.

In Newfoundland, King’s family mourned her death and offered a reward of $25,000 for information on her disappearance.

On Aug. 27, 2011, a man driving a quad discovered King’s body 10 kilometers north of the small community. Police said she was identified through her dental records.

On Tuesday, RCMP also told media why the arrest took investigators five years to make the arrest.

“Although sometimes to the public it appears that nothing’s been done on the file, the major crimes and historical case units never stop investigating these files,” Chamberlain said. “Sometimes it takes longer than others.”

The case remained suspicious; in December 2011, a cryptic memorial for King was set up at an abandoned property near Herschel.

That same month, her former home in the community burned down; police determined the cause to be arson. At Tuesday’s press conference, Chamberlain said RCMP didn’t have any information on whether the man accused of her murder was connected to the blaze. 

Caissie is scheduled to appear in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Wednesday morning.