The man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with a killing in Edmonton last week served more than three years in prison for sexual assault in 2007.
Gregory Christopher Tessman, 49, faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Valerie Maurice.
Tessman was convicted in January 2007 of sexually assaulting a woman working as an escort in Daysland, Alta. He was sentenced to 42 months in prison and prohibited from owning firearms for 10 years.
He was last seen in the Beverly area in east Edmonton on Sunday morning, Staff Sgt. Bill Clark said at a news conference Tuesday.
Police released photos of Tessman taken last Thursday at a supermarket near his apartment.
Early Tuesday afternoon, police said they thought Tessman was still in the city. But just after 3 p.m., the police service issued an update, saying they now believe Tessman traveled to Victoria, B.C., over the weekend and may still be in that area.
They said Tessman also has ties to Camrose, Alta.
Valérie Maurice, 29, was from Montréal. (Facebook)
Maurice, 29, was found dead in Tessman’s apartment suite in the area of of 144th Avenue and 88A Street on Aug. 31. Police believe she went to the apartment on Tuesday, Aug. 29, around midnight.
Clark said Maurice and Tessman did not have a relationship.
“We’re aware that she led a high-risk lifestyle, but the focus today is not on the victim but on finding Mr. Tessman.”
Maurice frequently travelled between Edmonton and Montreal. A friend from Montreal said Maurice had started to distance herself from friends and had started contacting them less frequently.
“She was very secretive about her life,” the friend told CBC Montreal on Sunday. CBC News has agreed to hide her identity because she fears for her safety.
“We tell her, this can be dangerous. But she doesn’t listen [to] us.”
A day before Maurice’s body was found, her friends posted messages on Facebook saying they hadn’t heard from her and were worried.
The friend said Maurice used to live with a man with whom she often travelled to Edmonton.
“She had a very good heart,” the friend said. “She was very funny. She was generous. She loved animals.”
Maurice would have celebrated her 30th birthday on Labour Day.
Her death is Edmonton’s 34th homicide of 2017.