Charges against a 16-year-old girl accused in connection with the slaying of a man found near a burning vehicle near Morrin have been upgraded to murder.

The Mail previously reported on June 15 that the youth, who cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, had been charged with accessory after the fact of murder and attempted obstruction of justice. Those charges were upgraded to first-degree murder on Monday, July 30.

The teen appeared in Calgary Youth Court Monday via closed-circuit television from the Calgary Youth Offenders Centre.

“After a detailed and thorough review of the evidence, it was determined that there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction on a charge of first-degree murder,” Crown prosecutor Mac Vomberg was reported as saying by the Calgary Sun.  

If sentenced as a youth, the teen would face no more than a 10-year sentence with a maximum of six in custody, under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. If charged as an adult, she could receive a life sentence without parole for a minimum of 10 years.

In October of 2017 Dylan Howard was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Fazal Rehman, whose body was discovered at the scene of a burning vehicle south of Morrin on October 16. Further investigation by RCMP led them to charge the teen in relation to the murder.

The victim of a vehicle theft from his residence was struck by his own vehicle early Saturday morning in Beiseker, RCMP say.

At approximately 8:30 am Beiseker RCMP responded to a motor vehicle theft of a Black Dodge 3500 pickup truck. A resident at the house attempted to stop the vehicle from being stolen and was struck with the vehicle as it fled the scene.

The resident received non-life threatening injuries to the lower part of his body and was treated on scene by medical personnel then released.

A red Kia Sportage and the stolen black truck fled from the residence and left Beiseker on a rural road. Both vehicles were later observed by Airdrie RCMP members. Two motor vehicle pursuits were initiated but called off a short time later due to concerns for public safety.

On Saturday morning, RCMP say no arrests have been made and the vehicles are still not located. Police are looking for two males and a female suspect.