Murder charge laid in death of Alberta woman killed for money: RCMP

RCMP say two men charged in the death of a dentist in St. Albert were trying to get money from her. CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny reports.

Two people have been charged in connection with the death of a woman in St. Albert last month, and police say she was targeted for “financial gain.”

Mai Diab, 59, was found dead at a home on Keystone Crescent in that city on Feb. 19 after a fire.

Someone with the same name is listed as working at Windermere Pediatric Dentistry. That office is closed for an undetermined amount of time, according to a voicemail greeting from the business.

Paul Gagnon is Diab’s next-door neighbour. His dad called 911 when the house fire first broke out.

“She was a kind lady. Soft-spoken,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.

Forty-four-year-old Mouhamad Fadi Orfahly of Edmonton was arrested on March 9 and charged with first-degree murder.

He remains in custody for future court dates.

Investigation suggests Diab was “specifically targeted by these suspects for financial gain,” according to an Alberta RCMP news release on Wednesday.

Mounties also say public contributions sped the investigation up.

“We obtained a great deal of really good quality surveillance footage from residents and businesses that really assisted early on,” said Alberta RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff.

Savinkoff added the investigation was not related to other extortion cases in Edmonton or across Canada.

The Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny