Homicide charges have been laid in the death of a 59-year-old woman whose remains were found last month in a burnt-out home northwest of Edmonton.
Two men have been charged in connection with the Feb. 19 death of Dr. Mai Diab, a pediatric dentist who is being remembered as a soft-spoken, generous person who was deeply dedicated to her young patients.
RCMP investigators say her killing was targeted and motivated by money.
Diab’s body was found after crews were called to extinguish a fire inside her home on Keystone Crescent in St. Albert, a bedroom community immediately northwest of Edmonton, RCMP said.
The fire, which caused limited structural damage, was quickly deemed suspicious. RCMP said. The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit took over the investigation and Diab’s remains were sent for autopsy.
In a news release Wednesday, RCMP announced that Mouhamad Fadi Orfahly, a 44-year-old Edmonton man, has been charged with first-degree murder in Diab’s death.
A second man has been charged with indignity to human remains and accessory after the fact to murder, RCMP said.
Orfahly was arrested on March 9 and remains in custody pending his next court appearance, police said.
The second suspect, a 43-year-old resident of Oakville, Ontario, was arrested in Toronto on March 12 and transported back to Alberta where he remains in custody.
“The investigation has determined that the victim was specifically targeted by these suspects for financial gain,” said Staff Sgt. Derrick Gladdish of the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit.
“Through community support and effective collaborative efforts between our Major Crime Unit, St. Albert detachment members and others, we were able to quickly identify and connect these suspects to this crime.”
In an interview with CBC News Wednesday, RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the victim and one of the suspects were known to each other as acquaintances but did not elaborate further.
He also declined to provide details on how Diab was targeted but said the motive for the crime was clear.
“We do believe right now, and our evidence will show, that the motivation here was financial gain against our victim,” he said.
“It really just shows the senselessness of the whole thing. And it’s certainly a tragedy.”
Savinkoff said evidence provided by community members was instrumental in identifying the accused men. He said neighbouring residents and businesses provided video surveillance which proved critical to the case.
“While I can’t speak to exactly what evidence was obtained, I can tell you that the evidence that we did obtain was extremely helpful in order to quickly identify our suspects,” Savinkoff said.
“There was a lot of work done in a short amount of time. And certainly we’re very thankful for the residents who provided us with a great deal of our evidence.”
In an interview with CBC News on Wednesday, Jason Paul remembered his friend as a diligent, hardworking person.
He said Diab was dedicated to her practice, Windermere Pediatric Dentistry, where she provided children and teens with specialized dental care for more than two decades.
“She was devoted to her work,” Paul said. “She didn’t have any kids, she wasn’t married. She just put her heart and soul into her dental practice and into her friendships.
“She loved kids and that’s what her world revolved around.”
Paul, a real estate agent in Edmonton, met Diab years ago as a client but they soon became good friends, he said. He said he was shocked to learn of her death and can’t fathom why his sweet, quiet friend was targeted.
“She was very loyal, very fair. She was very generous to people,” he said.“The world has lost a good person.”
