| LOCAL NEWS | |  |
|
 |
|
| Last updated at 9:13 AM on 08/06/08 |
Suspect chatted with police prior to arrest 
ALISHA MORRISSEY
The Telegram
|
 |
| Warren Patrick White will appear in provincial court in St. John's again today. - Photo by Rhonda Hayward/The Telegram |
|
A man who made small talk with police for at least half an hour at a St. John's crime scene Friday has been arrested and charged as the prime suspect in a grisly murder.
Warren Patrick White was reportedly driven away from the scene in an unmarked police car later Friday evening.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) spokesman Const. Paul Davis says once at the police station, White, 35, was arrested and charged in connection with second-degree murder and dismemberment of a woman, whose body was found near his home.
White appeared in provincial court in St. John's Saturday wearing white, police-issue coveralls and black sneakers. He was read the two charges against him - second-degree murder as well as a charge under Section 182 of the Criminal Code of Canada, dealing with anyone who "improperly or indecently interferes with or offers any indignity to a dead human body or human remains."
RNC officials say White allegedly killed the woman on May 30.
Police were called when a woman's dismembered body was found Friday afternoon in a wooded area behind a Warbury Street home by four pre-teen boys who were playing there.
White's address is listed in court documents as 63A Warbury St.
Police are confirming the human remains discovered were that of a dismembered adult female. Reports from neighbours and some parents say the limbs and head were missing from the body, and its torso was in a suitcase.
Court records have identified the victim as Amanda Power. However, Davis wouldn't confirm that Saturday.
"We believe that that is the identity of the victim of this murder, but we are (still) working towards a positive identification to confirm that," he says.
Police have confirmed that the deceased and suspect knew each other, but are not releasing any information about the relationship.
White was to undergo a psychiatric assessment overnight and will reappear in provincial court today.
He will have to apply for a bail hearing in Supreme Court, where the case will be heard, and has been ordered not to have contact with 14 people.
Meanwhile, more than 20 investigators, civilian staff members of the RNC and the medical examiner's office are working on the case, Davis says. The Rovers ground search team and the Canadian Coast Guard have also been called in to help search three key areas for evidence.
"One being the residence located at 63 Warbury St. and the adjoining wooded areas near that home, an open-space area in the lower end of Shaw Street and, as well, the Waterford River from the Water Street area to, and including, the St. John's harbour," Davis says. "These areas have been secured and are being searched for the presence of evidence and I can tell you that we are not prepared to discuss the details of what we are searching for today."
One of the RNC's primary concerns Saturday was the health and well-being of the four children and the family and friends of the deceased, Davis says.
The Salvation Army Critical Incident Stress Management team has volunteered to help the boys, he says. The Eastern School District has also been notified and will be providing support for the boys when they return to school, Davis says.
amorrissey@thetelegram.com
|
08/06/08
|
|
|
|
