JLD
10-20-2005, 09:03 PM
EVERY cyclist here in Ottawa is Jumping for Joy!!!!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A little serendipity combined with the keen ears of seasoned investigators has resulted in the arrest of a suspect in a two-year-old high-profile murder case. Police announced Thursday that they have charged Chris Myers with the murder of Ardeth Wood.
Wood, a 27-year-old University of Waterloo student, disappeared during a ride on a bike path in August 2003 while visiting her family in Ottawa. Her body was found a few days later.
The murder sparked fears that a serial killer was on the loose.
Myers, a 25-year-old unemployed man from Ottawa, has been in jail in North Bay, Ont., since May on sexual assault charges.
He now faces four new sexual assault charges in Ottawa.
Police have refused to say if Wood was sexually assaulted, but they have said Myers is a sexual predator.
Had it not been for the happenstance of two Ottawa investigators probing a robbery, the case could have taken much longer to solve than it did, said Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan.
"Good hard work mixed with luck always results in these investigations moving faster than perhaps they otherwise would have."
Myers was arrested by Ottawa police in May, but was turned over to North Bay investigators after being charged with sexually assaulting a resident of that city.
Ottawa police questioned Myers about the Wood case when he was first arrested but there wasn't enough evidence to link him to the murder at that time, said Ottawa Staff Sgt. Randy Wisker, the lead investigator on the Wood file.
Myers was turned over to North Bay police on May 14. Two days before that, two Ottawa investigators were in North Bay looking into an unrelated robbery case.
There, they overheard North Bay officers talking about a sexual assault case - and that's when they put two-two together.
"We had the good fortune of having two very experienced investigators who were in North Bay and were speaking with the police there, and happened to learn of this (sexual assault) incident," Bevan explained.
Ottawa police soon realized they had an alleged serial rapist on their hands, linking Myers to four sexual assaults that had occurred in Ottawa between July 2003 and December, 2004.
Wood's father, Brenden Wood, thanked police for their resolve.
"Though charges being laid does not bring any closure, it is hoped that the hard work of all those involved in finding Ardeth's body and investigating her death will reduce the chances of another similar event taking place," he said, reading from a statement.
"It is good to know that though the wheels of justice grind slowly, they do, in fact, grind."
While women in the nation's capital can take comfort in the fact that a suspect is in custody in the Wood case, a second sexual predator remains on the loose in Ottawa, said Bevan.
Another Ottawa woman, 18-year-old Jennifer Teague, disappeared Sept. 8 while walking home from her late-night shift at a west-end fast food restaurant. Her body was discovered partially covered with branches near a conservation area nature trail a few days later.
Her killer has not been found.
"(Myers) obviously has no connection with what happened with Jennifer Teague," Bevan said.
"So I'm sure that people living in . . . the western part of the city will still be waiting for that investigation to run the same course as this one has."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A little serendipity combined with the keen ears of seasoned investigators has resulted in the arrest of a suspect in a two-year-old high-profile murder case. Police announced Thursday that they have charged Chris Myers with the murder of Ardeth Wood.
Wood, a 27-year-old University of Waterloo student, disappeared during a ride on a bike path in August 2003 while visiting her family in Ottawa. Her body was found a few days later.
The murder sparked fears that a serial killer was on the loose.
Myers, a 25-year-old unemployed man from Ottawa, has been in jail in North Bay, Ont., since May on sexual assault charges.
He now faces four new sexual assault charges in Ottawa.
Police have refused to say if Wood was sexually assaulted, but they have said Myers is a sexual predator.
Had it not been for the happenstance of two Ottawa investigators probing a robbery, the case could have taken much longer to solve than it did, said Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan.
"Good hard work mixed with luck always results in these investigations moving faster than perhaps they otherwise would have."
Myers was arrested by Ottawa police in May, but was turned over to North Bay investigators after being charged with sexually assaulting a resident of that city.
Ottawa police questioned Myers about the Wood case when he was first arrested but there wasn't enough evidence to link him to the murder at that time, said Ottawa Staff Sgt. Randy Wisker, the lead investigator on the Wood file.
Myers was turned over to North Bay police on May 14. Two days before that, two Ottawa investigators were in North Bay looking into an unrelated robbery case.
There, they overheard North Bay officers talking about a sexual assault case - and that's when they put two-two together.
"We had the good fortune of having two very experienced investigators who were in North Bay and were speaking with the police there, and happened to learn of this (sexual assault) incident," Bevan explained.
Ottawa police soon realized they had an alleged serial rapist on their hands, linking Myers to four sexual assaults that had occurred in Ottawa between July 2003 and December, 2004.
Wood's father, Brenden Wood, thanked police for their resolve.
"Though charges being laid does not bring any closure, it is hoped that the hard work of all those involved in finding Ardeth's body and investigating her death will reduce the chances of another similar event taking place," he said, reading from a statement.
"It is good to know that though the wheels of justice grind slowly, they do, in fact, grind."
While women in the nation's capital can take comfort in the fact that a suspect is in custody in the Wood case, a second sexual predator remains on the loose in Ottawa, said Bevan.
Another Ottawa woman, 18-year-old Jennifer Teague, disappeared Sept. 8 while walking home from her late-night shift at a west-end fast food restaurant. Her body was discovered partially covered with branches near a conservation area nature trail a few days later.
Her killer has not been found.
"(Myers) obviously has no connection with what happened with Jennifer Teague," Bevan said.
"So I'm sure that people living in . . . the western part of the city will still be waiting for that investigation to run the same course as this one has."