RCMP release:

The Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit has charged a man relation to the homicide of Natacha Leroy.

On November 22, 2023, Victoria County District RCMP responded to a report of a possible homicide at a home on Old Route 5 in Big Bras D’Or. RCMP officers learned that Natacha Leroy, 48, had disappeared and the circumstances around her disappearance were suspicious.

On November 24, human remains were found in Big Bras D’Or by RCMP Police Dog Services. The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide and, on November 29, the remains were confirmed to be those of Natasha Leroy.

On November 30, Carolyn Ann Dermody, 25, of North Sydney, was safely arrested on the Bedford Hwy. in Halifax. Dermody has been charged with Murder and Indignity to Human Remains. She has been remanded into custody and appeared in Sydney Provincial Court on December 4, 2023.

On December 1, 2023, at approximately 5:40 p.m., Cape Breton Regional Police Service safely arrested the second suspect, 28-year-old Kevin Forrest Jr. of Big Bras D’Or, at a residence in Sydney Mines on behalf of the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit. Forrest Jr. has been charged with Accessory to Murder and Indignity to Human Remains. He was remanded into custody and appeared in Sydney Provincial Court on December 4.

Dermody and Forrest Jr. are scheduled to appear in Wagmatcook Provincial Court on December 6.

The investigation has determined that this was not a random incident and that Natacha was known to Dermody and Forrest Jr.

The investigation is continuing and is being supported by the Cape Breton Regional Police Service, RCMP Forensic Identification Services, the Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit and the Victoria County District RCMP.