BRIDGEWATER - 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. "For us to do a proper job, we're going to take the time we need to take."

 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. They released few details, refusing to say how or when Karissa died, or if she died where she was found.

 Since then, there has been a frenzy of media attention and public scrutiny as people jockey for word about the girl's death.

 While police say they understand that the community came to care about a child many had never met in the two weeks that she was missing and the days since, they also say they need time to ensure the probe into her death is completed properly.

 "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, the town's acting deputy chief, said.

 Bridgewater Police had launched a large-scale investigation when the girl was missing.

 That has intensified since her body was discovered in the snow just outside town limits in Conquerall Bank near the old Irving parking lot. It is now a joint investigation with the RCMP. More than 20 officers are working on the case, including members of the RCMP's major crime unit and the integrated street squad.

 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.

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 "Obviously the investigators, for whatever reason, believed that these individuals may or may not have had some information that was important to this case and they wanted to speak to them," Sgt. Collyer said.

 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.

 "I really can't comment on that. That would be tipping the hand of the investigators," he said.

 He did, however, verify that to his knowledge officers working the case have no other suspects.

 "The two suspects remain suspects," he said.

 Police have also executed several search warrants connected to the case, but have refused to release any details. There have been reports that at least one was at Jubilee Apartments, where Karissa lived with her mother, Penny Boudreau, and her mother's boyfriend, Vernon MacCumber. Neighbours have also said that police removed Ms Boudreau's car, a red Neon, and possibly a second blue car.

 Investigators had the assistance of a criminal profiler late last week, an RCMP officer who was on vacation in Nova Scotia and volunteered his services.

 "He reviewed our investigation and felt we were on the right track," Sgt. Collyer said.

 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. Karissa lived with her father last summer and until mid-November when she chose to move to Bridgewater to be with her mother.

 On January 27, Ms Boudreau reported that her daughter was missing. She told police she'd last seen Karissa at 5:30 p.m. when, following an argument, the girl chose to remain in the car while her mother went into the Sobeys in the Bridgewater Mall to buy a few items. When she returned 15 minutes later, Ms Boudreau said her daughter was gone. She said she drove around looking for Karissa before calling police at 8:30 p.m.

 That sparked a large-scale search for the 12 year old, which included ground search and rescue volunteers, a Department of Natural Resources helicopter, RCMP divers, Child Find, internet groups and countless citizens who put up posters in the town, the county and beyond.

 The search seemed to end February 9 when police confirmed they'd found the body of a young, white female and people waited to learn if it was the missing girl.

 From the time they first announced that Karissa was murdered, police have downplayed the need for increased caution in the community.

 "The investigators feel this is an isolated incident and I would suggest that Bridgewater is a pretty safe community most of the time," Sgt. Collyer said at last week's press conference.

 Mayor Carroll Publicover said he was shocked to learn that Karissa had been murdered.

 "I grieve for that little girl and I grieve for all those affected by her loss, that includes her classmates and her friends. It's a shocking state of affairs that we have a young girl 12 years old who is a victim of homicide. That's a very disquieting reality for the whole community," he said.

 The mayor added he understands that people are upset and concerned for the safety of their children. However, he wants to assure residents that investigators are doing their best to solve Karissa's murder and he believes they will solve it.

 "They've deployed every possible resource they can to deal with this matter effectively and will continue to do so," Mayor Publicover said.

 Bridgewater's last murder occurred in 1992 when musician Joseph Laurendeau, 41, was stabbed to death. Charles Zwicker was charged with murder, but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

From missing to murdered

• January 27. Karissa Boudreau is reported missing at 8:30 p.m. Her mother, Penny Boudreau, tells police her 12-year-old daughter waited in the car outside the Bridgewater Mall Sobeys store following an argument while she went inside to buy a few items. When she returned about 15 minutes later, she says Karissa was gone. Police and family members begin looking for the child believing she has run away from home. As a winter storm hits the South Shore, a search dog fails to turn up any sign of Karissa in the Sobeys parking lot.

• January 28. Bridgewater Police contact other police agencies and alert the media as they extend the search for the missing 12 year old.

• January 29. Penny Boudreau makes a tearful plea to her daughter to come home at a press conference at the Bridgewater Police station. She explains that she took Karissa for a drive on Sunday "to have a heart-to-heart" with her. They argued over "typical teenage things" that really weren't significant. Lunenburg County Ground Search and Rescue volunteers comb an area along the William Hebb Road in Hebbville after receiving a tip. They find no sign of Karissa.

• January 30. Reports that Karissa is missing continue to spread as the 12 year old's photo is plastered in stores and businesses around Bridgewater and beyond.

• January 31. Skies finally clear and two police officers scour the LaHave River, the Bridgewater Mall, wooded areas around Bridgewater and east and west along Highway 103 from a Department of Natural Resources helicopter. They see no evidence of Karissa.

• February 1. Penny Boudreau makes a second emotional appeal to her daughter or anybody who knows where she is to make contact. "It's hard not to know where your kid is," she tells reporters. Police admit they have no evidence to confirm that Karissa was in the Sobeys lot on Sunday because there are no surveillance videos of the area, but say the family has been co-operative. "We do not have any evidence to point to anything that is criminal," Sgt. John Collyer says.

• February 4. Police conduct a second air search from a helicopter going back over the same areas with the same negative results.

• February 5. RCMP divers begin probing the icy LaHave River searching for Karissa behind the Bridgewater Mall as far downstream as Shipyards Landing.

• February 6. Divers complete their search and police say they are confident that the missing girl is not in the river.

• February 7. Police continue to run down leads in the case, including tips of possible sightings of Karissa from around the Maritimes, but can't find her.

• February 9. A passerby discovers a body on the bank of the LaHave River below Highway 331 just outside Bridgewater town limits in Conquerall Bank at 11:30 a.m. Forensic investigators descend on the scene, while police notify Karissa's family that human remains have been found.

• February 10. Police confirm that the body is a young white female, but say no positive identification will be made until an autopsy on February 13. Dozens of people attend a prayer vigil for Karissa at the Sobeys parking lot.

• February 14. The RCMP and Bridgewater Police hold a press conference to confirm that the body found on the riverbank was Karissa and that the missing person case has become a homicide investigation. Three people are questioned in connection with the girl's death and one is released. Police execute several search warrants in the Bridgewater area, but won't reveal details.

• February 15. The two Bridgewater residents arrested for questioning in the murder investigation are released without being charged.

• February 16. The Nova Scotia medical examiner's office releases Karissa's body to her father, Paul Boudreau. A memorial service is planned for February 19 at 2 p.m. in Barrington, southwest of Shelburne where he lives.

• February 17. Police warn the murder investigation could take days, weeks or months to complete. "For us to do a proper job, we're going to take the time we need to take," Sgt. John Collyer, Bridgewater's acting deputy chief, says.

• February 18. Bridgewater Police Chief Brent Crowhurst urges the community to feel safe, asking residents to trust investigators when they say Karissa's murder is an isolated incident. He assures townspeople that more than 20 investigators from his force and the RCMP are working on the case and have the combined training and experience to resolve it. "From our investigation, we are satisfied there is no jeopardy for residents of Bridgewater and surrounding areas. We don't believe for a minute that it was a random act that could happen again," the chief says.

posted on 02/19/08