Police units remained outside an apartment building on Third Street SE, near downtown in Medicine Hat, on Oct. 26, 2021 after a body was discovered by police. --News File Photo
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A Medicine Hat man is charged with second-degree murder in what police allege was an domestic homicide after they discovered the body of a woman at a downtown-area apartment.
Timothy Ray Faulkner, 55, appeared in Medicine Hat Provincial Court on Wednesday morning to answer to the charge. He was remanded in custody.
Police announced late Tuesday they were investigating a sudden death at an apartment located on Third Street SE, near Division Avenue, stemming from an incident the previous day.
They released no further information at the time, but said Wednesday the man and women were domestic partners, and the women’s family was working the victim’s assistance program of the police service.
Insp. Brent Secondiak said police believe the pair were in a common-law living relationship since about 2018.
Police dealt with a single domestic violence call from the residence several years ago, said Secondiak, who was not immediately aware of particulars in that investigation, but said no charges were laid.
Faulkner was previously not known to police, he said.
“They had very few dealings with us, which is kind of surprising,” said Secondiak.
Police units and a forensics van were still at the scene on Wednesday morning.
Court documents name the victim of the alleged homicide as Corinne Schneider. Faulkner’s address is stated to be the same and the site of the investigation.
Police say they continue to investigate this week’s incident, but believe there to be no risk to the public.
Anyone with information related to the current investigation is asked to contact the police Major Crimes Unit at 403-529-8481.
The police also state the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society is available to support individuals and families experiencing domestic violence. A 24-hour help line can be reached at 403-529-1091 or toll free by dialing 1-800-661-7949.
It is believed to be the first murder inside Medicine Hat city limits in nearly three years.
Last week, the RCMP charged a Suffield women in the death of her missing husband.
In late 2018, a man was charged by Medicine Hat police and later pled guilty to the death of a friend after an unexplained fight at a separate downtown apartment block.
Three unconnected murders were recorded in the last few months of 2017 and early 2018.
