A Calgary man who allegedly drove around the city with the lifeless body of his girlfriend in his car Thursday night has been charged in her death.
Kristopher Guenther, 29, was charged with second-degree murder Friday in the death of Lacey Jones-McKnight, 20.
He is currently in hospital for treatment after being arrested while trying to hang himself off a bridge.
CTV Calgary’s Elissa Carpenter says police were called at 9:20 p.m. Thursday night, by a mutual friend of the couple who told police that a man had come up to her in a downtown nightclub to tell her he had killed a woman. The friend said the man had the woman’s body in his car when he drove off.
Twenty minutes later, police received a call from another woman, believed to be Jones-McKnight’s mother, who said she had been assaulted by a man by the same name. The man then fled her home.
At 9:50 p.m., police received a third call from a member of the public saying a man was attempting to hang himself off a bridge in the city’s northeast.
“Responding units discovered him hanging off the bridge and rescued him. At the same location, a vehicle containing the body of a woman in her early 20s was located,” police said in a statement.
Police have not released details about how Jones-McKnight died.
Loved ones say Jones-McKnight had a tumultuous relationship with Guenther, who went by the name “Tray.” Police were called more than once to deal with domestic disturbances between them.
“The parties involved in this incident did come onto our radar in August of this year for a variety of things, not just domestics, but for a variety of things,” Major Crimes Insp. Cliff O’Brien told reporters Friday.
“I can tell you there were reports submitted with regards to the police response. And in fact, there continues to be an active investigation in regards to one of those incidents."
After the relationship between the couple ended three weeks ago, Jones-McKnight told friends she was making changes and moving forward. Her mother, Shelly Jones, tells CTV Calgary that her daughter moved back home after the breakup but that Guenther continued to harass her.
Jones says police were called five times in three weeks because her daughter’s ex was terrorizing her.
“Every time they would break up he would threaten suicide, and she would say to me, ‘Mom, I cannot let him do this,’” Jones told CTV Calgary. “And she would go to be with him.”
Jones said the evening her daughter died, Guenther arrived at her house, pulled out a knife and asked her to kill him. Jones said the two struggled with the knife before Guenther left.
As Guenther walked away, Jones said, he shouted over his shoulder: “Your daughter’s already dead.”
O’Brien said every interaction between police and the couple will now be reviewed.
Guenther remains in hospital under police guard.
With a report from CTV Calgary’s Kari Eyles
