Man to be charged with 2nd-degree murder in death of missing Hemmingford woman

A 31-year-old man is set to be charged on Wednesday afternoon with second-degree murder in connection with the case of a Quebec woman who went missing in Hemmingford on Sept. 21, about 60 kilometres south of Montreal — near the U.S. border.

Nicholas Gravel was charged last week with causing indignity to a body in the same case and now a new charge is being added.

There is a publication ban regarding any information that could identify the 29-year-old victim.

According to the official charge sheet, the offence took place between Sept. 15 and 21 in Hemmingford and “did cause the death of [the victim], thereby a second-degree murder.”

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) arrested Gravel on Sept. 26 and he was charged the next day at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse specifically for improperly or indecently interfering with or offering any indignity to a dead body or human remains, whether buried or not – between Sept. 15 and 21 in Hemmingford.

Last Thursday morning, provincial police said they located a woman’s body near a home in Hemmingford, but did not confirm the identity.

An autopsy was expected to be performed to determine the exact cause of death, but no information has been released publicly as of yet.

SQ had reported that the victim was last seen on Saturday, Sept. 21, leaving her home.

A ground search was suspended on Sept. 25 and a body found the next morning.

Gravel is currently detained.

-With files from The Canadian Press