Raymond Cormier to fight Tina Fontaine murder charge, lawyer says

Raymond Cormier will contest the second-degree murder charge he faces in the death of Tina Fontaine, 15, his lawyer says.

Cormier, 53, was supposed to make his first court appearance on Tuesday, after he was arrested and charged last week. His case was put over to Jan. 8.

"He is contesting the charge," his lawyer, Pam Smith, said in an email.

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Smith said Cormier will not seek bail at this time. The case is being delayed while she waits to receive the full police report, she added.

Fontaine's body was recovered from the Red River in Winnipeg on Aug. 17, 2014.

Court documents show police believe Fontaine was killed on or around Aug. 10, 2014, a day after she was last reported missing.

Originally from New Brunswick, Cormier moved to Winnipeg about three years before Fontaine's death, but that was not where police found him. 

Winnipeg police Deputy Chief Danny Smyth said on Wednesday Cormier was arrested in Whistler, B.C., transported to Vancouver for processing and brought back to Manitoba. 

Smyth remarked there was "some covert operation stuff going on," during Cormier's arrest, but would not elaborate. 

Long history of crime

Parole board documents suggest Cormier has a long history of violent crimes fuelled by drug addiction.

Cormier has racked up at least 92 criminal convictions for offences that include theft, robbery, obstruction of justice, fleeing from a peace officer and weapons- and drug-related charges.

The parole board revoked Cormier's statutory release in 2012 after he had served time for robbery and noted he was a high risk to reoffend.

Previous court documents show that since 1978, Cormier has spent more than 23 years in prison for various offences that include assault and theft.

"File information indicates that you were under the influence of illegal substances for most of your past offences, and the assaults were most often during your attempt to steal money from your victims for drugs," said a parole board report from 2012.

Calls for MMIW inquiry grew after death

Calls for an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal girls and women grew in intensity and frequency in the weeks following Fontaine's death.

She had only been in Winnipeg a few weeks after leaving her great-aunt's home on the Sagkeeng First Nation, about 70 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

Her family has said she was taken into the custody of Child and Family Services and placed in a downtown hotel but ran away shortly before she was killed.

Police said Fontaine became an exploited youth in the Manitoba capital and met Cormier at a residence they both frequented.