Article content
The man arrested last week after his fiancée disappeared in Hemmingford last month was charged with second-degree murder Wednesday afternoon.
Initially, Nicholas Gravel, 31, was charged last week with causing an indignity to Kelsey Watt’s body. He made his first court appearance at the Valleyfield courthouse on Friday and was detained. When he appeared again on Wednesday, through a videoconference connecting the courtroom to a jail where he is detained, he was charged with Watt’s murder.
Article content
The status on Watt’s Facebook page indicated the couple were engaged to be married.
Gravel looked toward the floor often during his brief hearing and asked that it be held in English. A Quebec Court judge agreed to set Dec. 16 as the next date in the case. She also agreed to issue an order prohibiting Gravel from communicating with 10 potential witnesses while his murder case is pending.
Gravel cannot seek bail until his case is transferred to Quebec Superior Court.
The prosecutor in the case also asked that the case involving the lesser charge be closed.
In a statement issued by the Sûreté du Québec two weekends ago, the provincial police said Watts was last seen on Sept. 21 around 12:30 p.m. However, the charge filed against Gravel last week alleges he “did improperly or indecently interfere” with the woman’s body between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21, an indication police now believe she died days before she was reported missing.
The murder charge alleges Watt was killed between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21.
Hemmingford is more than 60 kilometres south of Montreal, near the U.S. border.
Watt’s body was found last Thursday in a wooded area behind the home on Covey Hill Rd. where she lived with Gravel. He was arrested hours later.
Last week, a friend of Watt’s declined to comment on what happened. She cited a request from Watt’s family that her loved ones not talk to the media.
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network