Man from Prince Edward Island charged as police search for remains of Edmonton woman missing for months in suspected ‘intimate partner homicide’

A man from Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a missing Edmonton woman who has been missing since August 2025. The suspect was identified as John Angus Joseph MacArthur, 47, according to CTV News. He was arrested at a home in South Melville, P.E.I., on March 17 and transported back to Edmonton.

MacArthur was charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a human body in the death of Marika “Mika” Sutton. The 29-year-old woman was last seen in early August 2025 in the Richfield neighbourhood of Mill Woods and was reported missing on September 25, 2025, to the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) by out-of-province family members.

EPS investigators had determined by the end of October 2025 that Sutton was likely dead, as reported by CTV News.


They said that Sutton and MacArthur were in an intimate relationship. Police discovered a history of domestic violence during the investigation; however, it was not formally reported to police. EPS said that the woman’s death is being classified as an intimate partner homicide.

MacArthur’s criminal history emerges

While speaking at a news conference on Friday, police said MacArthur had a criminal history in his home province of P.E.I. “He does have a criminal history. I believe he’s got 18 criminal convictions, and he has done jail time,” Det. Braydon Lawrence with the EPS Homicide Section was quoted as saying to reporters.

MacArthur has previously been convicted multiple times in P.E.I. for assault, theft, uttering threats, and failure to comply with a probation order, CTV News reported, citing court records.

He has also been convicted of possession of a restricted weapon, robbery, mischief, causing a disturbance, obstructing a peace officer, and break-and-enter in his home province, records show.

Search for Sutton’s remains is still on

Police are still searching for Sutton’s remains, which are believed to be somewhere along the QEII between Wetaskiwin and Lacombe.

“It’s a very broad area, because we are basing our information on what we’ve received. And unfortunately, we can only be as specific as the information that we’ve received,” Lawrence said. According to investigators, Sutton’s body was dumped between August 22 and 29, 2025.

MacArthur was driving a 2014 black Jeep Patriot at the time with Alberta license plate CFB 2578 at the time of Sutton’s disappearance.