Young Calgary mother Jasmine Lovett and her daughter Aliyah Sanderson are the centre of an extensive criminal investigation after being reported missing on April 23, 2019.
Calgary police have said investigators have found no evidence to suggest the pair are alive, and therefore have declared their disappearance a suspected double homicide.
Investigators found bodies on Monday, May 6 believed to be those of the young mother and her daughter, and re-arrested a man police have called the “primary suspect” in the case.
Officers and search teams focused on two locations — a home in the Calgary neighbourhood of Cranston and a vast wooded area west of the city, near Bragg Creek — in their search for evidence in the case.
WATCH: Bodies found in Kananaskis believed to be of missing mother and daughter. Jenna Freeman reports.
One man was arrested and released a day later, but police say he is still the primary suspect in the investigation. Robert Leeming, Lovett’s landlord, told media he was arrested, questioned and released a day later in relation to the disappearances.
Here is a timeline of the investigation into the disappearance of Lovett and Sanderson:
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 — The last time Lovett and Sanderson are heard from, according to Calgary police. In a public plea for information, police said the pair lived in Cranston and had regular contact with family.
Tuesday, April 16-18, 2019 — When speaking to Global News on April 26, Leeming gave conflicting dates on which he last saw Lovett and Sanderson alive. In one interview at around 5:30 p.m., Leeming said he last saw the pair on April 18. However, in a second interview about three hours later, he said he last saw them both on April 16 and 17.
Leeming said he went to Bragg Creek with both of them, had a drink at a picnic area and then drove them home. He also said he was in an intimate relationship with Lovett, but she was not his girlfriend.
Calgary police said on May 6 that it’s believed Lovett and Sanderson were killed sometime between Tuesday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 17.
Wednesday, April 17-20, 2019 — Calgary police believe the bodies of Lovett and Sanderson were taken to the Grizzly Creek area sometime between Wednesday, April 17 and Saturday, April 20.
Thursday, April 18, 2019 — Calgary police said a transaction was made using Lovett’s bank account — the last footprint of life. Police could not confirm whether the transaction was made by Lovett herself.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 — Lovett and her daughter failed to show up at a family dinner. The pair were reported missing to police. Leeming said Calgary police search his home in the middle of the night.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 — Calgary police issued a public plea for information and help in the search for missing 25-year-old Jasmine Lovett and her 22-month-old daughter Aliyah Sanderson.
Thursday, April 25, 2019 — The disappearance of Lovett and Sanderson was ruled a suspected homicide after investigators found no evidence to suggest the victims are live. Calgary police arrested Leeming at his home in Cranston and take him in for questioning.
Leeming was released from police custody and later speaks to media outside the Cranston home at the centre of the criminal investigation as well as outside a nearby bar. Investigators say despite being released, Leeming is still the primary suspect in the homicide investigation.
Friday, April 26, 2019 — Police, search and rescue personnel and Fish and Wildlife officers continued their search of a vast area near Bragg Creek, west of the city.
Monday, April 29, 2019 — Calgary police said it’s believed evidence in the suspected double homicide had been burned. Investigators pleaded with anyone who may have seen a suspicious fire in an unusual area — not in a fire pit — in the area of Bragg Creek, Elbow Falls, Priddis and/or East Kananaskis sometime between Tuesday, April 16 and Saturday, April 20, to contact police.
Monday, May 6, 2019 — Calgary police said bodies believed to be that of Lovett and Sanderson were located in the Grizzly Creek area of Kananaskis Country. Officers also re-arrested the man identified as a “primary suspect” upon his release from custody two weeks prior.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 — Calgary police formally charged 34-year-old Robert Leeming with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Lovett and Sanderson. He was remanded into custody until his next court appearance.
— With files from Global News’ Jenna Freeman and Nancy Hixt
Comments