A LaSalle man charged with first degree murder in the death of a pregnant Windsor woman is familiar with various members of her family, say police.
Matthew Brush, 26, from LaSalle, is charged with first degree murder, arson with disregard for human life, arson causing property damage, possession of incendiary material for arson, break and enter, and indecent interference with a dead body.
Cassandra Kaake, 31, was found dead in her home on Benjamin Avenue on Dec. 11 after a fire. She was seven months pregnant.
Windsor police investigator Staff Sgt. Mark Denonville said they are not going to discuss motive or details, but he did say Brush was known to the family.
“He was familiar with various members of the family,” says Denonville.
Denonville alleges Brush acted alone. He says police are not looking for more suspects.
"Often times in cases like this we find that, due to lifestyle choices, victims can sometimes bring themselves in harm's way, but in this case Cassie could not be a more innocent victim,” says Denonville.
Police are crediting the public for helping provide information for the case.
“I take pride in our community, in Windsor, because without them, we wouldn’t have had the successes that we’ve had,” says Denonville.
In the days following her death, police released information saying that the fire at the duplex was intentionally set and Kaake died as a result of blood loss due to severe trauma to her body.
After collecting many forensic samples, police conducted a secondary canvas of the neighbourhood in January. Over 500 people agreed to submit DNA samples, but only a few were collected.
All the DNA police collected will now be destroyed because an arrest had been made.
Brush will be back in court on Feb. 11 for a bail hearing.
Police say they are continuing with the investigation and are gathering additional information as a result of the arrest.
