Photo credit to Alberta RCMP
A Sundre man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 1976 killing of a teenage mother in Calgary, following a renewed investigation that used advanced DNA technology.
Ronald James Edwards entered the plea in court Monday in connection with the death of 16-year-old Pauline Brazeau. Originally from Saskatchewan, Brazeau had moved to Calgary with her infant daughter in 1975.
She was last seen leaving a restaurant near 7 Street and 17 Avenue SW in the early hours of Jan. 9, 1976. Later that morning, her body was found west of the city in an area under RCMP jurisdiction. She had been stabbed multiple times.
Despite multiple reviews over the years, Brazeau’s case remained unsolved. In 2021, the Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit and the Calgary Police Service Cold Case Homicide Unit reopened the investigation, using forensic genealogy to analyze DNA evidence.
In 2022, police developed new leads by working with forensic specialists from Othram Inc., a U.S.-based company, and genealogists from Convergence Investigative Genetic Genealogy. By 2023, they had identified a suspect.
Edwards, then 73, was arrested at his Sundre home on November 7, 2023. He was charged under the Criminal Code as it stood in 1976 with non-capital murder.
On Monday, the Crown and defence jointly recommended a 6.5-year sentence, which the judge accepted. With credit for the time served, Edwards has four years, five months, and 24 days remaining in his sentence.
RCMP and Calgary police credited advancements in DNA technology and inter-agency collaboration for closing the case, one of Alberta’s longest-running homicide investigations.
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