Man charged with murder of woman, 33, found dead in rural Cape Breton home

GARDINER MINES,, N.S. – A 40-year-old Cape Breton man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a woman found Tuesday.

Cape Breton Regional Police said Richard Wayne MacNeil of Gardiner Mines was to appear in Sydney provincial court today.

Police say they were called to a Gardiner Mines home, about 15 kilometres northeast of Sydney, around noon Tuesday, where they found the woman’s body and arrested a man.

Investigators say the 33-year-old victim and suspect “are known to each other.”

Police spokesperson Desiree Vassallo says someone had called 911 for assistance.

The woman’s name is not yet being released “pending notification of family.”