A 50-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with his girlfriend’s disappearance.
Reita Louise Jordan, 34, was last seen at a home in Hammonds Plains on March 19.
Neighbours say the home belongs to Paul Trevor Calnen and that Jordan was staying with him, but was in the process of moving out.
When family didn’t hear from her, they filed a missing person’s report.
The RCMP Major Crime Unit picked up the case in April.
Andrzej Hanko, who lives nearby, says he spoke to Calnen after police searched his home.
“He said he wasn’t involved in a crime or anything like that. What he said was that she left with another guy,” says Hanko.
RCMP arrested Calnen on Brunswick Street in Halifax at approximately 2:35 p.m. Monday.
He appeared in Halifax provincial court on Tuesday to face a charge of second-degree murder in the case. He is also accused of interfering with human remains.
“Police suspected that foul play or something serious had happened to Miss Jordan because she went from being very active on social media, regular interaction with friends, to zero,” says Halifax RCMP Cpl. Scott MacRae.
Calnen works as a plumber and has lived in the same neighbourhood in Hammonds Plains for many years. People who know him say he started dating Jordan after his first marriage ended.
Jordan’s parents also appeared in court on Tuesday, but declined to comment on the case.
Under the guidance of a psychic, Jordan’s family and friends organized a search on the weekend in a wooded area of Tantallon.
Her remains have yet to be found.
“It’s still very much an active investigation and that will be a job of the investigators to push forth to see if we can find the remains of Miss Jordan,” says MacRae.
Calnen will remain in jail until his next court appearance in July.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
