A Calgary man is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of a St. Thomas woman whose body was found in a London hotel room Monday.
David Hatch, 30, is also charged with failing to comply with a recognizance.
The body of Marie Roberts, 29, was found in a Wellington Rd. hotel room around 5 p.m.
Hatch made a brief appearance Tuesday morning in the Ontario Court of Justice at the London courthouse.
With several members of his family present in the courtroom, Hatch learned his next appearance in court will be Feb. 9 via a video link.
"This is a new and frightening experience for him," Hatch's lawyer, Gord Cudmore, said outside the courtroom.
Hatch's family declined comment. One member confronted a TV cameraperson and tried to pry the lens from the camera.
Roberts was reported missing Sunday when she failed to return home from London, where she went to buy concert tickets according to a post on a social-networking website.
Police said Hatch and Roberts were known to each other, but declined to explain the nature of their relationship or how they knew one another.
Police declined to disclose the cause of death.
There will be an autopsy today, said Const. Amy Phillipo, adding investigators are still at the scene.
Roberts van was found in the parking lot of the Radisson Hotel and Suites, 855 Wellington Rd., after police were called to a room there around 5 p.m.
Already, more than 1,500 people have registered on a Facebook memorial page for Roberts, described by many as a sweet and fun-loving person. Many expressed shock and sadness
Roberts had left her Woodworth St. residence in St. Thomas about 8 p.m. Sunday to make a purchase in London, St. Thomas police said.
Roberts was last heard from at 9:30 p.m, Sunday, saying she would be home soon, St. Thomas police said.
At the hotel last night, London police released few details. "We are in the very early stages of this investigation, said London Const. Andrea McGrath.
Neighbours said Roberts and her boyfriend, with whom she lived in St. Thomas, knew Hatch.
"He used to play baseball with them," said Stan Fil, who lives across the street.
Fil recalled Roberts as a "hell of a person."
"She baked cookies for me," he said, tearing up. "She's the best person you could ever meet."
Hatch used to live in St. Thomas, but left several years ago to work in the Alberta oilpatch, Fil said.
