Raymond Cormier, man acquitted in murder of Tina Fontaine, facing break and enter charges in Ottawa
Sarah Petz | CBC News | Posted: March 26, 2021 9:59 PM | Last Updated: March 26, 2021
Ottawa police say break-ins happened in apartment buildings starting in January
The man found not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tina Fontaine three years ago has now been charged in a series of break and enters in Ottawa.
Ottawa police say Raymond Joseph Cormier, 59, is facing charges related to four break-ins at apartment buildings, dating back as far as mid-January.
Police say the break-ins happened in apartments, parking garages, mail rooms and storage rooms.
Cormier was arrested after investigators reviewed surveillance videos and recovered DNA evidence from a crime scene, according to a news release from Ottawa police Friday.
He faces multiple charges, including commercial break and enter, residential break and enter, possession of break and enter tools, and possession of property obtained by crime.
CBC News has confirmed that the man accused of the crimes in Ottawa is the same man who was charged, and later acquitted, in the second-degree murder of Tina Fontaine.
The girl's 72-pound body was found in Winnipeg's Red River on Aug. 17, 2014, wrapped in a duvet cover and weighed down with rocks. She was 15 years old.
The teen's death drew attention from across Canada and fuelled calls for the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Cormier was charged in connection with her killing on Dec. 8, 2015. After a nearly three-week trial, Cormier was found not guilty by a jury on Feb. 22, 2018.