Daniel Paul arrested following death of girlfriend in East Vancouver

Vancouver police have confirmed they arrested Daniel Alphonse Paul, 42, yesterday, in connection with the death of his girlfriend last month in East Vancouver.

The body of Rose Paul, 36, a mother of five, was found March 3 in the basement suite of a home on East 22nd Avenue in Vancouver. 

For a month, investigators searched for Daniel Paul from Squamish to Chilliwack, as well as the U.S., and even offered a $10,000 reward for information.  

Paul was arrested after two officers spotted him riding his bike on Broadway near Yukon Street shortly after 7 p.m. PT, a few blocks away from a police station. When confronted, he initially denied who he was, but was arrested without incident, said police.

Sgt. Randy Fincham said thousands of police officers across Canada and the United States were involved in the search for Paul, but they don't know where he was while he was hiding from police.

"It is possible he was living locally. We don't believe at this point he was assisted by anybody," said Fincham.

Paul is still being interviewed by investigators and has yet to be charged, but Const. Brian Montague said on Thursday evening Paul will remain in custody for the time being. He is currently being held on some breaches of probation conditions while the investigation into Rose Paul's death continues. 

Risk of re-offending

"We currently are working very closely with the family. There are five young girls who have lost their mother, and another two sisters that are grieving the loss of their sister," Montague said.

A 2006 National Parole Board decision documented Paul's long history of violence in relationships and concluded Paul was a "high risk to re-offend with violence or sexual violence against an intimate partner."

Yesterday Rose Paul's sister Candace Paul told CBC News she got a call from police saying Paul had been arrested.

"We're all happy that he's finally caught and is off the street and we're praying that he will be charged formally by the crown and proceed with court. and eventually found guilty," said Rose's uncle, Howard Paull.

Police say they do monitor some offenders and warn the public when they can, but it's not always possible. 

"It's a complicated matter when we look at what we can share publicly as far as privacy concerns as well as looking after the safety of the public. So we have limitations when we can share information on a certain individual," said Fincham. 

Still, the case raises questions over whether more should be done to monitor released offenders.

"We have to ask the question what can we do to ensure the safety of women and girls in our community and right now in fact we can't," said Angela Marie MacDougall, the executive director of Battered Women's Support Services.

"We are gambling with the lives of girls and women."