A man from Olds has been arrested for the murder of an Airdrie man found dead in his home earlier this year.
On March 18, police arrested Dustin Piper, 23, in connection with the murder of Garland Curtis.
The arrest was made in central Alberta and Piper has been charged with first-degree murder.
Curtis, 40, was discovered dead at his home in Mountain Circle, on Airdrie’s east side, on Jan. 12.
The cause of death is not being released, although RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Colette Zazulak said the victim and suspect were acquaintances that knew each other for a couple of years.
Inspector Tony Hamori, officer in charge at the Airdrie detachment, was pleased with the turn of events.
“The resolution of this file demonstrates the specialized skill set and dedication of RCMP members throughout the province,” he said in a press release.
“There were a lot of different pieces to put together in order to see the big picture, and our team of professionals have been working tirelessly on this case.”
Police discovered Curtis’ body when they entered his Airdrie home after being contacted by a co-worker at his job in Fort McMurray who was concerned about the deceased man’s welfare when he was away from work for several weeks.
After discovering the body, police searched for the decease’s vehicle, a 1994 Saturn, which was discovered abandoned in Olds, Jan. 21.
Over the past several weeks, police from several detachments and units, including Airdrie, Red Deer, Fort McMurray and Olds have been involved in the case, as have Major Crimes Units from as far away as New Brunswick.
“There were a lot of forensic analysis … it was pretty involved,” said Zazulak, adding no motive for the crime is yet known.
“(We are) very pleased,” said Zazulak.
“The specialized units worked together very well.”
Arielle Viklund said Piper lived with her and her husband at their home in Olds last year from March to August.
She said RCMP interviewed her and her husband about Piper in January.
“They were just asking how we knew him, what he was like, what kind of person he was,” she said.
Viklund also worked with Piper at the Olds McDonald’s restaurant and her husband was best friends with Piper in high school in Carstairs.
“They used to skip class together. They were tight.”
Viklund also said Piper was moving back and forth between Olds and Vancouver in recent years.
“We tried helping him get back up on his feet after he had moved from Vancouver last year,” she said.
The last time she saw him was in February when he was working at Sandy’s Restaurant and Bar in Olds.
She described him as a person who kept to himself and said Piper claimed he was bipolar.
“I always sensed something uncomfortable about him.”
With Files from Paul Everest, Great West Newspapers
