Calgary police charge woman with first-degree murder in connection to 2016 disappearance of Tammie Howard

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While Calgary police conducted a ground search of the Siksika Nation on Saturday in connection with the 2016 disappearance of a woman from the city, they already had one suspect in custody.

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Defense attorney Michelle Carrigan appeared briefly in Calgary provincial court Monday on behalf of lead defense attorney Andrea Urquhart to discuss the indictment against Natalie Renee Vinje.

Carrigan told Judge Brian Stevenson that the defendant’s personal appearance could be waived while Urquhart awaits the Crown’s disclosure in the case.

He adjourned the matter until August 19.

Vinje, 36, was arrested last month and charged with first-degree murder in the Christmas Day death of Tammie Doreen Howard, aka Irish.

Howard, 49, was last heard from the day before and was reported missing by her family the following April.

Although no body was discovered, police believe she was murdered.

Vinje made a brief appearance July 31 before Justice of the Peace Jim Conley, who remanded the case to Monday.

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At the request of the Crown, Conley placed a no contact order on the defendant, prohibiting her from coming into contact in any way with four named individuals.

Calgary police issued a press release Saturday stating that investigators were conducting a search of Siksika Nation land with the help of Gleichen RCMP, the Calgary Search and Rescue Association and members of the Missing Persons units and City Public Safety.

At the time, police did not indicate that a suspect had been charged.

On July 21, Calgary police indicated that they believed Howard had been murdered.

At a press conference, Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said police initially treated Howard’s disappearance as a missing person case.

“Initially, we were looking at her case as a missing person case and then over the last five years, through our investigations, we determined that she was a homicide victim,” he said.

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“It is the totality of all the information that we have received from all sources that has led us to believe that it is a homicide.”

As soon as Howard disappeared, signs such as banking activity immediately ceased, Schiavetta said.

“We exhausted all traces of life,” he said, adding that Howard’s body has never been located.

A key piece of evidence in the case is a light-colored Jeep Wrangler, and police are seeking the public’s help in obtaining information about it.

“We believe this vehicle played a role in the homicide. As to what role he played, we are asking the public for information,” Schiavetta said.

“If anyone knows who the registered owner was, how it was used in the homicide, this is what we need from the public.”

Anyone with information about Howard’s disappearance is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 and can leave tips anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. www.crimestoppers.org or the P3Tips app.

— With files from Bill Kaufmann

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