Police in Cape Breton have charged a man from New Waterford, N.S., with second-degree murder in connection with the 2021 homicides of David Sheppard and Christopher Reid.
In a release, Cape Breton Regional Police said the two incidents are not connected, but an ongoing investigation led police to identify the suspect as being involved in both murders.
Dakota Charles Williams, 27, was arrested July 13 and faces two counts of second-degree murder, break and enter with intent, and mischief over $5,000.
Sheppard, who was 51, died nine days after he was assaulted in his home on Brookland Street in Glace Bay on Jan. 18, 2021.
Earlier this week, police announced that another man, 42-year-old Stephen Troy MacDonald, was charged with second-degree murder in relation to his death.
The second victim, Reid, was found injured on the sidewalk of Mitchell Avenue in Dominion around 8:30 a.m. Jan. 31, 2021. The 42-year-old was pronounced dead a short time later.
In January 2023, police said they charged 31-year-old Jarrot Bradley Currie with second-degree murder in that case.