Police post image of suspect in Morrisseau slaying

Gatineau police have released a detailed composite sketch of a man suspected in the slaying of a pregnant Ottawa woman last December.

The full-colour image, drawn with assistance from a witness interviewed recently by police about the slaying of 27-year-old Kelly Morrisseau, was unveiled at a news conference in Gatineau Wednesday morning.

Police describe the suspect as a man between 24 and 30 years old withshort, wavy blond hair,five feet eight inches to five feet 10 inches tall and 180 to 200 pounds with anathletic build. They said he speaks English and French with no accent.

Morrisseau, who lived in Ottawa's Vanier neighbourhoodbut grew up on the Sagkeeng First Nation, north of Winnipeg, died shortly after she was found naked, bleeding and near death in a Gatineau Park parking lot on Dec. 10.

She was last seen leaving an apartment in Vanier withthe suspectthat morning around 4 a.m., police said at the news conference.They said they believe the twohad metfor a sexual encounter.

The man drove awhite or grey four-door 1985 to 1990 OldsmobileCutlass Ciera or Cutlass Calaisin very good condition, police said.

Police would not disclose any information about the witness other than the fact he was a man.

Crime Stoppers spokesman Claude Parent said posters of the suspect will be handed out by police to sex trade workers in the Vanier neighbourhood.

"What we're going to do is we're going to distribute the poster throughout Vanier. We'll target shopping malls, community centres, public areas, posts,"he said at the news conference.

Gatineau police spokeswoman Isabelle Poirier saidinvestigators have spoken to 200 peopleabout the case and have a DNA profile of a suspect after laboratory analysis of items found at the crime scene.

Morrisseau's aunt, Michelle Morrisseau, said she hopes the release of the image will lead to a big leap forward in the case.

"I hope this will end soon,"shetold reporters at the news conference. "It's been difficult for all of us. We're all just trying to stick together and try and get information of our own to share with the police."

Morrisseau, a mother of three children, was seven months pregnant at the time of her death.