Moncton man charged with first-degree murder after missing man found dead

A man reported missing in Moncton, N.B., last week has been found dead and another man has been charged with murder in connection with the case.

The RCMP says officers found human remains in a wooded area in a new subdivision off Paris Street in Irishtown, near Moncton, on Tuesday.

The remains have been identified as those of 24-year-old Max Boudreau.

An autopsy will be scheduled to determine the exact cause of death, but police are treating it as a homicide.

MURDER CHARGE LAID

Later Tuesday, police arrested a 42-year-old Moncton man in connection with Boudreau’s death.

Justin Barrow has been charged with first-degree murder.

The courtroom was packed with about 20 of Boudreau's friends and family members -- many of them visibly upset -- as Barrow made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.

"We're taking it a little bit hard. We found out last night," said Alyssa Legere Dignard, who spoke of behalf of Boudreau's family following Barrow's court appearance. "It's been a bit of a toll on everybody. We're trying to stay strong. We're trying to get some more news of what happened."

At this time, it isn't clear whether Boudreau and Barrow knew one another. Dignard says, as far as she knows, Boudreau didn't know the man accused in his death.

Barrow was remanded into custody and is due back in Moncton provincial court on Dec. 12 at 11 a.m.

BOUDREAU REPORTED MISSING

Police previously reported that Boudreau was last seen leaving a bar on Champlain Street in Dieppe, N.B., around 3 a.m. on Nov. 15.

He was reported missing on Nov. 17.

Dignard says Boudreau was supposed to meet some friends at a pub the night he disappeared, but he never showed up.

"We had called him, but he didn't answer the phone, and then later we found out he had gone to Angie's with some more friends," she says. "After that, he got into a cab alone, and from there, that's what we know so far."

The New Brunswick RCMP Major Crime Unit is now leading the investigation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the New Brunswick RCMP at 1-888-506-7267 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

'A SPECIAL SOUL'

Boudreau's mother announced his death on her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon, calling him a "special soul."

Lise Lamoureux also thanked the Codiac RCMP and everyone who took part in efforts to find her son.

Many of Boudreau's friends and family members had been posting pleas for information on his whereabouts over the past week in hopes their loved one would turn up.

"Max was fun, joyful, always a bundle of energy, always cheering us on, never really got upset," says Dignard. "We used to have a lot of fun together. He was really fun. I miss him a lot."