New Brunswick man facing two first-degree murder charges after house fire

TRACADIE, N.B. – New Brunswick RCMP say a 19-year-old Tracadie man is facing first-degree murder charges after two bodies were found following a weekend house fire.

Police say Benoit Bertin appeared in court Tuesday and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of attempted murder and arson in connection with Sunday’s fire in Six Roads, about 10 kilometres north of Tracadie.

Police say that when officers arrived at the scene just after 1:30 a.m., they found a man who had been able to flee the burning home — he was taken to hospital in Fredericton where he is in critical condition.

A second man was found a short distance from the home and was arrested.

The Mounties say a search of the burned out home on Monday led to the discovery of the bodies of an unidentified man and woman.

Bertin has been sent for a 30-day psychiatric evaluation and is scheduled to appear in Tracadie provincial court Dec. 13.