Alicia Boone died of hypothermia, death still 'suspicious'

Nearly two years after the body of Alicia Boone was discovered along Killarney Road in Fredericton, RCMP have found no signs of foul play.

But the death of the 26-year-old pregnant woman, formerly of Nackawic, is still considered suspicious because investigators still have unanswered questions about the 14 hours between the time she was last seen and her body being discovered, said Cpl. Chantal Farrah.

​On Wednesday, RCMP released Boone's cause of death as being hypothermia due to exposure to freezing temperatures.

Her body was found behind some community mailboxes on Killarney Road by a passerby on Nov. 6, 2012, at about 1:30 p.m. Police have not said how Boone, who was seven months pregnant, was clothed.

The autopsy also found elevated drug levels in her system, which is listed in the autopsy report as a contributing factor to her death. Farrah declined to discuss the type of drug or drugs involved.

The fact that Boone was face down on the ground was also listed as a contributing factor in her death — positional asphyxia.

Police have had the autopsy results for some time and they were previously released to Boone's family, said Farrah.

Asked why they were only made public on Wednesday, she said the major crime unit was busy analyzing evidence, speaking to witnesses and following up on leads.

Pressed further about how autopsy results are often released within days, even as investigations are ongoing, Farrah replied: "Every investigation is different."

Through the investigation, police have determined that Boone was at an apartment on George Street on the city's south side until about 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 5, said Farrah.

Witnesses say she left to meet someone on Brunswick Street, which is one block away. There are no confirmed reports of her whereabouts after that — until her body was discovered at about 1:30 p.m. the next day on Killarney Road. Killarney Road is 12 kilometres away, on the city's north side.

"So that’s a 14-hour time gap that we’re still trying to determine," said Farrah.

"With all the evidence that was examined, there was no signs of foul play. But what we don't know is how she got to Killarney Road and if anyone was with her. So that's why those circumstances remain suspicious because we can't answer them. So until we can answer them, that file stays open."

Boone's case is now being featured on the New Brunswick RCMP's Unsolved Homicides and Suspicious Deaths webpage.

"We hope that by putting that out there, if someone hasn’t had the courage to come forward with information, or never realized how important it was, well maybe this will convince them and maybe they can come forward to the police and provide that information," said Farrah.

"Because ultimately, what we want is to give closure to this family. And we can’t finish this investigation completely until we have all of the pieces together," she said.

Boone had been living in Fredericton for several years, but had moved back to Nackawic to live with her parents a short time before her death. She was looking forward to being a mother, her family has said.

She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a pink hoodie undershirt, and a black hoodie with "Aero 87" written in white letters on the front. The hoodie was black on the outside and contained black/white stripes on the inside.

She had blonde hair and blue eyes, was five feet, six inches tall, and weighed about 130 pounds.

Anyone with any information on Boone's whereabouts or who she had contact with between the evening of Nov. 5, 2012, and the following afternoon, is asked to contact the RCMP at 1-888-506-RCMP (7267), or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).