Sabastien Roy was arrested and charged yesterday with first-degree murder in the death of Christopher Raynsford.
Mr. Roy, 24, had been the target of an intense investigation by members of the Ottawa police major crime squad, almost from the day Mr. Raynsford's badly beaten body was found in his Lisgar Street apartment on Dec. 4.
Mr. Roy was taken into custody without incident in Quebec City over the noon hour -- on what would have been Mr. Raynsford's 35th birthday -- and was expected to be brought back to Ottawa today. If he arrives early enough, he will then make his first court appearance. If not, he will appear tomorrow.
"For us, it was a matter of public safety, really. We believed this guy was dangerous, so as soon as we had a case we could take to court, we made an arrest," said Staff Sgt. David Lengacher of the Ottawa police.
Mr. Roy is also charged with killing Mr. Raynsford's cat.
Yesterday's news was greeted with somber optimism by Mr. Raynsford's brother Neil, 37, and the rest of his large family. (Mr. Raynsford came to Ottawa from a small town near Owen Sound.)
"We're pretty pleased that they've charged this person," Neil Raynsford said. "I'm confident that the police have done a good and thorough job in this investigation. They've treated us well."
Earlier in their investigation, police called Mr. Roy a "witness." Then they called him a "person of interest." They said he was the last person with whom Mr. Raynsford was seen alive. They said they wanted to talk to him.
But they didn't call Mr. Roy a suspect.
Last week, after police put out Mr. Roy's picture and description, the man was detained in Quebec City and investigators from Ottawa travelled there to interview him. After the interview, Mr. Roy was released, and the investigators came home.
"He was our No. 1 for some time," said Staff Sgt. Lengacher. "When we went down there last week, we just didn't quite have enough to make an arrest. Over the last week, with investigators pretty much working around the clock, we got some additional evidence."
Then a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Roy.
As soon as that was done, the Quebec City police, who'd been keeping an eye on Mr. Roy for the Ottawa police, arrested the man where he'd been staying recently.
Results of forensic tests done on items taken from Mr. Raynsford's apartment still aren't in.
The police investigation had been hampered by the long time between Mr. Raynsford's death and the time his body was found after his mother called police saying she hadn't heard from her son in about two weeks.
The last time he showed up for work as a waiter at the National Arts Centre's Le Caf? restaurant was Nov. 21. His body was found 13 days later.
A few weeks before his death, Mr. Raynsford told friends he'd been threatened and robbed at knifepoint by a man he met on an Internet chat line.
The incident was never reported to police.
Mr. Raynsford's killing sent a wave of fear through Ottawa's gay community.
Many feared his homicide was a hate crime, but police have said there is no evidence that the killing was motivated by Mr. Raynsford's sexual orientation.
"I'm quite comfortable saying that this is not a hate crime," Staff Sgt. Lengacher said.
Police have said that Mr. Roy is well-known in the gay communities of several Canadian cities.
Drifter Charged In
Gay Killingby Ben Thompson
365Gay.com Newscenter
Ottawa Bureau
(Ottawa) A man questioned and released by Ottawa police a week ago has now been charged with first degree murder in the killing of 34 year old Christopher Raynsford.
Sébastien Roy, 24, was arrested in Quebec City. He is expected to appear in an Ottawa court today.
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Raynsford's badly decomposing body was found in his downtown Ottawa apartment in early December. An autopsy showed he had been beaten to death.
Police will not say what led them to connect Roy with Raynsford. Friends of the dead man said shortly after the murder was discovered that Raynsford often met men in internet chat rooms and was often found in the Ottawa rooms of Gay.com
Crime lab investigators removed Raynsford's computer for examination but refuse to say what was found.
Roy was initially picked up last week for questioning in Quebec city following a transcontinental manhunt. But, after several hours of questioning police released him.
"New evidence surfaced in the past week that put us over the hump," Staff Sgt David Lengacher told 365Gay.com Thursday night. Lengacher would not say what that evidence was except that it was sufficient to lay a first degree murder charge.
A drifter, Roy has a violent criminal record that includes at least one conviction in Quebec for extortion. In every city he visits he hangs out in gay neighborhoods preying on gay men investigators said.
Lengacher reiterated earlier statements in the case that the killing was not a hate crime, but he would not say what led investigators to that conclusion.
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