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Cindy Gladue, 36, was found dead on June 22nd, 2011.

Gladue was Edmonton's twenty-seventh homicide victim of the year.

Bradley Barton, 42, was charged with second-degree murder.

Officers were called to the Yellowhead Inn at 15004 Yellowhead Trail around 8:00 a.m. on June 22nd, 2011, after hotel staff discovered a woman's body.

At first, police called it a suspicious death.

"There is no evidence to suggest it's criminal at this point, but it is being treated as suspicious based on things that investigators found when they arrived at the scene," a spokesman said.

It was later learned that in addition to the body being found in a bathtub, police noticed a large amount of blood inside Suite 139.

As in all cases of suspicious death, homicide detectives were brought in.

They reviewed surveillance video from the hotel and interviewed guests as they waited for autopsy results.

Media did a little investigating of their own and checked in with the hotel's general manager, Jonas Cameron.

"We're all very shocked," he said. "There was a body found in one of the rooms but it would pure speculation to say what happened.

Cameron said a man he described as a trucker had checked into the room and had brought a woman with him.

The manager said he didn't know the nature of their relationship but noted the man later cooperated with police.

Other hotel staff hotel declined comment but understandably a few guests expressed surprise at the level of police activity in and around the hotel.

"I thought it was a joke at first," one woman said. Then she saw forensics staff working a room on the main floor.

Two days later, police confirmed they dealing with Edmonton's twenty-seventh homicide of the year. The woman's identity was being withheld until a positive identification could be made.

Cause of the woman's death was also withheld.

Subsequent media reports shed new light and revised earlier statements made.

Hotel manager Cameron was now quoted as saying the room where the woman's body was found had been rented by a man who checked in alone.

Adding to the mystery was that a maintenance man went to check on the room after someone inside the suite made a 911 call.

Cameron reported there had been no complaints of noise coming from the room.

Police released no further details until June 27th, 2011, when they announced that 42-year old Bradley Barton of Mississauga, Ontario had been arrested in Calgary three days before.

Barton was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 36-year-old Cindy Gladue.

A police spokesman said investigators wouldn't be releasing details on whether or not Barton knew Gladue or what their relationship was.

"Right now we are withholding that information," said the spokesman who would also not confirm if Project KARE was involved in the investigation.

Project KARE is an RCMP-led Aberta-wide task force tasked with investigating the cases of more than 20 Edmonton-area women who have been either killed or reported missing since 1983. The unit was formed in 2003.

Cindy Gladue's family said little to media and only revealed personal reaction on Facebook, the popular social networking website.

"Why, why did he do that to her? (It) makes it harder for me to deal with this now," Donna Mcleod, Cindy's mother, wrote in a posting.

Mcleod said the Athabasca-area family was primarily focused on taking care of her daughter's funeral services. She said Cindy had lived in Edmonton since she was nine years old.

Gladue's death on June 22nd was the city's 27th murder of the year, tying the number recorded in all of 2010.

All the information presented on this page has been compiled primarily from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site.
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deadmonton 2011 - cindy gladue