Cody Alan Legebokoff is facing three additional first-degree murder charges.
He was charged with first-degree murder last year in connection with the death of 15-year-old NVSS student Loren Donn Leslie.
The three new murder charges relate to the unsolved Prince George murder cases of Jill Stacey Stuchenko, 35, Cynthia Frances Maas, 35 and Natasha Lynn Montgomery, 23.
RCMP from E Division Major Crime Section made the announcement at a press conference in Prince George on Monday morning following a 10-month investigation.
Stuchenko was reported missing to police on October 22, 2009. Her body was found four days later in a gravel pit on the outskirts of Prince George.
Maas was reported missing by her friends on September 23, 2010. The remains of her body were found on October 9, 2010, in LC Gunn Park, in a remote area of Prince George.
Montgomery was reported missing on the same day as Maas. She was originally from Quesnel but had been living in the Prince George area when her friends contacted the RCMP. Her body has yet to be recovered but an investigation resulted in a murder charge in relation to her disappearance.
Legebokoff, now 21 years old, grew up in Fort St. James but moved to Prince George after he graduated from Fort St. James Secondary School.
In November 2010 he was charged with first degree murder in relation to the death of Fraser Lake teen Loren Donn Leslie.
He was arrested after his vehicle was stopped on Highway 27, just 22 Kilometres north of Vanderhoof.
A member of the Fort St. James RCMP detachment had noticed the truck while he was traveling south on Highway 27. The truck was pulling out onto the highway from an older unused logging road, and given the time and location, the police officer deemed it as suspicious and pulled the vehicle over.
He was detained following his identification, a conversation and the officer’s observations. The officer then contacted an area conservation officer, Cam Hill, to conduct a thorough search of the area. Just before midnight Hill located the body of Leslie just half a kilometre up the logging road from which the truck had emerged.
Leslie, who was originally from the Fraser Lake area, was enrolled in Grade 10 at Nechako Valley Secondary School (NVSS) in Vanderhoof at the time of her murder.
Loren’s father Doug Leslie attended an RCMP briefing for the victims families on Sunday. He also attended the press conference on Monday.
He told the Express on Monday that he isn’t too surprised by the three new murder charges.
“I wasn’t terribly surprised but I was happy about it because it means that Loren’s murder was a catalyst for these other investigations,” said Leslie.
“It seemed that the RCMP really couldn’t connect the dots until Loren was found.
“If this guy is convicted he is going to go away for a long time … he may be young but age is just a number … he’s an animal,” Leslie added.
Police say a combination of factors, along with a dedicated team of investigators led them to lay these charges.
RCMP also said that Legebokoff was an avid user of social media and technology.
“Our investigation indicates he extensively utilized social media and on-line dating to correspond with friends, associates, potential girlfriends and others,” said Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick at the press conference on Monday.
“He frequently used the on-line name of 1CountryBoy,” he added.
RCMP arrested Legebokoff on Friday at the Prince George Regional Correctional Center where he was awaiting his supreme court trial for his charge of Leslie’s murder.
RCMP say the investigation is ongoing.
“We are asking anyone with any information, in particular between the time period of October 2009 and November 2010 to call a special Tip Line that has been established for this case. The number 1-877-987-8477 (TIPS).
“We believe there are others out there that may have been in contact with Legebokoff or these victims and possess information that can assist our on-going investigation,” said Fitzpatrick.
