By Sheldon Spackman

January 1976 Incident

Sundre man sentenced in Calgary cold case death

Mar 25, 2025 | 5:05 PM

A Sundre, AB, man charged with non-capital murder in connection to a 48-year-old cold case has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail.

Ronald James Edwards, 75, was sentenced in Calgary Court of King’s Bench on March 3, 2025. He was given pre-trial credit of 724 days, however, leaving him with four years and five months left to serve, in addition to a five-year weapons prohibition.

Edwards was convicted on one count of manslaughter, with the court recommending his sentence be served at Bowden Institution.

He was previously scheduled for a jury trial in Calgary Court of King’s Bench from June 3-20, 2025.

Edwards was convicted in the death of Pauline Brazeau, a young Métis woman and single mother originally from Saskatchewan, who was just 16 in 1976, at the time of her death.

accidental death

Sylvan Lake RCMP investigating non-criminal death following incident

12h ago

Grant Money

BBBS of Red Deer and District awarded over $600K from province

12h ago

alleged sexual exploitation

Trial scheduled for Red Deer man charged in Florida

14h ago

Police say it was the fall of 1975 when Brazeau relocated to Calgary with her infant daughter. On Jan. 9, 1976, she was last seen leaving Peppe’s Ristorante in the area of 7 Street and 17 Avenue in Calgary, at around 3 a.m.

Tragically, a few hours later, her body was discovered outside Calgary, in the jurisdiction of Cochrane RCMP. An autopsy would determine the cause of death was homicide.

RCMP add that Brazeau’s murder was one of many to occur in the Calgary area during the late 1970s and early 80s. By 1995, the RCMP had formed a task force to re-investigate those unsolved homicides, Pauline’s included. But her file remained unsolved despite extensive investigative efforts, police say.

In 2021, Alberta RCMP’s Historical Homicide Unit (HHU) partnered with Calgary Police Service’s Cold Case Homicide Unit to re-analyze files dating back to the 1970s. With advancements in DNA technology, a tool known as Investigative Genetic Genealogy, was used to identify leads. This is the second time Alberta RCMP have used this method to solve a case.

In 2022, HHU sought aid from Othram Inc., a private lab in the U.S. Calgary Police then worked with two dedicated genealogists from Convergence Investigative Genetic Genealogy, coming up with a suspect in 2023.

“The Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit investigators are committed to speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. The search for Pauline’s killer has never ended over the past 47 years,” said Inspector Breanne Brown, officer in charge, Alberta RCMP Serious Crimes, at the time the charge was laid. “Throughout the years we have always been hopeful that the person responsible would be held accountable. I am extremely grateful for all investigators who have worked on this investigation throughout the years and the partnership and support from the Calgary Police Service. I truly hope that Pauline’s surviving family find some closure as they receive answers.”

Calgary Police Service Superintendent Ryan Ayliffe also shared a message for the public.

“We are grateful that our organizations were able to work together to bring closure to this case and to Pauline’s family,” he says. “If I were to leave you with one assurance, it would be that our investigators will not give up on our Calgary victims, no matter where they are found.”

On Nov. 7, 2023, Ronald James Edwards of Sundre was arrested. The murder charge against him is as it was defined in the Criminal Code in 1976. At that time, Canadian law declared murder to fall under two categories, capital and non-capital. His charge was for non-capital murder.

Related: Jury trial scheduled for Sundre man charged in 1976 homicide

Related: Sundre man ordered to stand trial in 1976 homicide

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.