Brief appearance for man charged in relation to December homicide

A local man accused in a late-2018 murder at an apartment building downtown appeared in provincial court Thursday.

Donald Goodwill, 24, appeared via closed-circuit TV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre. He faces a single count of second-degree murder.

James Rouleau, who was acting as duty counsel, said Goodwill needs to get in contact with Legal Aid to obtain a defence lawyer.

“He clearly needs counsel to assist him on this file,” said Rouleau.

Goodwill was arrested Dec. 14 in Saskatchewan, the day after police went to check in on a missing person at a Fifth Avenue SE apartment building and found them dead.

At the time of his arrest, Medicine Hat Police Service Insp. Tim McGough said the homicide appears to be an isolated incident and that there’s no threat to public safety.

The MHPS aren’t looking for additional suspects, he added.

McGough called the investigation a “complex file,” which will take a “considerable period of time” to piece together.

Goodwill’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 5.