Arrest made in 23-year-old homicide case

Police have laid charges in relation to the 1990 sexual assault and murder of 57-year-old Joan Foulds.

Saskatoon police believe they’ve solved a 23-year-old murder.

A 42-year-old Saskatoon man has been arrested and charged with the sexual assault and murder of 57-year-old Joan Foulds.

Foulds was found sexually assaulted, beaten, and stabbed in July 1990. Now, Jonathan Robert Pickett, who was only 19 years old at the time, is facing a charge of first-degree-murder.

Pickett has been living in Saskatoon ever since the alleged attack. He made his first appearance in court Thursday.

Earlier in May, Saskatoon police closed another cold case that dated back almost 50 years. At the time, they credited new technology with helping them break the case.

On Thursday, police said once again that their evolving tools helped them find their suspect.

“There’s been some pretty technology advances that have assisted police work. As well, our major crimes section is probably one of the most professional in Canada. They’re very well trained, and now they’re full-staffed,” said Inspector Rick Penny.

Police also noted that Saskatoon has only had one confirmed murder this year – freeing up detectives' time to work on older cases.

The man charged in Foulds' murder was a regular at her place of work, the Friendship Inn.

Robin Bellamy was the executive director of the Friendship Inn when Foulds died. For Bellamy, Foulds death was a tragedy. “Joan was such a great person that people were in shock, obviously,” he said.

"There was always that curiosity or wonder - is the person I’m sitting next to the one who did it? We wondered whether someone passing everyday could have been the one who killed our good friend.”