Murder probe could take time

posted on 02/18/08

Police say it may take days, weeks or months to complete the investigation into the murder of 12-year-old Karissa Boudreau and they’re asking people to be patient.

“It’s going to take as long as it’s going to take,” Sgt. John Collyer of the Bridgewater Police Service said Sunday.

Police called a press conference February 14 to confirm that the body discovered along the LaHave River five days earlier was that of the missing Bridgewater girl and to announce that her death was a homicide. Since then, there has been a frenzy of media attention and public scrutiny as people jockey for word about the girl’s death.

“We want to make sure we do the best job we possibly can, obviously for Karissa’s family, for Karissa and for the public. If we rush into court with only half a case, we all know what the results are going to be and that’s not going to benefit anybody,” Sgt. Collyer said.

Following last Thursday’s announcement that the 12 year old had been murdered, police say they’ve received a lot of tips.

“There has been a flood of new information come in
 since this was announced as a homicide. We very much want to encourage people to contact us. No piece of information is too trivial,” Sgt. Collyer said.

Two people were arrested Thursday and held for questioning for 24 hours. They were released Friday morning with no charges laid.

By law, police can only hold a suspect for 24 hours without laying charges. That does not mean the suspect cannot be arrested again at a later date.

A third person, described as a “person of interest” in the case, was questioned Thursday and released the same day.

There has been wide-scale speculation about the identity of the two people who were arrested and released, but police refuse to name them. Authorities have only said they are Bridgewater residents who knew Karissa.

Sgt. Collyer would not confirm if police had questioned the pair further over the weekend. He did, however, verify that to his knowledge officers working the case have no other suspects.

The Nova Scotia medical examiner’s office released Karissa’s body to her father, Paul Boudreau, on Saturday. A memorial service is planned for Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Barrington, southwest of Shelburne, where he resides.