Jesse Reynolds charged after Jessica Miller's body found
A 20-year-old Hampton, N.B., man has been charged with committing an indignity to a dead body after the remains of a missing Apohaqui woman were discovered in a wooded area near Prince of Wales on Monday night.
Jesse Edwards Reynolds appeared in Saint John provincial court on Tuesday morning in connection with the death of Jessica Ann Miller, 20.
He is charged with indecently offering an indignity to Miller's remains for allegedly disposing of her body in a wooded area.
The accused and victim were known to one another, confirmed RCMP Const. Jullie Rogers-Marsh. She declined to elaborate on the nature of their relationship."It will come out through the court process," she said.
An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of Miller's death, said Rogers-Marsh.
More charges are possible, she said. "It is an ongoing investigation."
The victim's mother is heartbroken.
"My daughter is gone, she was my beautiful baby girl and now she's gone," Gale Miller told CBC News on Tuesday morning.
Jessica Miller had just posted photographs of herself with her mother on her Facebook page on July 7 — two days before she was last seen. They went kayaking together and enjoyed a barbecue.
She had also recently updated her Facebook cover photo with a quote: "You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life."
Reynolds was arrested on Monday — before Miller's body was discovered, RCMP said. He was being questioned in regards to her disappearance, said Rogers-Marsh, declining to say what led to the arrest.
Reynolds is accused of committing the indignity offence between July 9 and 13.
Rogers-Marsh declined to comment on the condition of her body or how it ended up in Prince of Wales.
Police received information about the body at 8 p.m. on Monday by sources Rogers-Marsh declined to divulge.
Reynolds will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Aug. 4.
If convicted, the charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Tuesday's court appearance only lasted a few minutes and Reynolds stood in the prisoner's box the entire time, dressed in a long, white institution-issued shirt.
He did not talk during the appearance.
David Lutz, his lawyer, also offered no comment after the hearing concluded.
Investigation ongoing
Miller's vehicle was discovered in Saint John on Monday afternoon, according to police.
Her body was discovered at about 8 p.m. on Monday in a wooded area just off of Highway 1 near Prince of Wales, which is west of Saint John.
Her body was discovered on a dirt road that runs parallel to Highway 1, about 300 metres to the north of the highway.
Two RCMP vehicles are blocking the road about 500 metres away from where Miller's body was discovered.
A Mountie command vehicle and six other vehicles can be seen near where the body was discovered. At least eight uniformed officers were searching the underbrush on Tuesday morning and an RCMP dog handler was on the scene.
An officer said they are searching for evidence and making sure nothing was missed in earlier searches.
Miller was reported missing on Sunday, after her family had not heard from her for a few days.
The RCMP's major crimes unit and two other RCMP detachments are investigating.
Leroy Armstrong, a former MLA in the area, said people in Apohaqui are reeling from the news of Miller's death.
"This is a very quiet village and you don't expect anything of this nature to happen," he said.
