THUNDER BAY -- Police broke a three-week silence on Monday surrounding a homicide investigation that stemmed from a Dec. 27 fire on Brant Street.
Flanked by the two detectives working the case, Thunder Bay Police Chief J.P. Levesque revealed a covert investigation led to the arrest of 40-year-old Benjamin Ronald Marki.
Police did not indicate to the public that the fire was suspicious because the accused was believed to have been a flight risk.
Although detectives notified the victims' families there was "more to this investigation than meets the eye," they also weren't made aware of Marki's suspected involvement until he was arrested.
"We had to protect the integrity of the investigation as well as there was a public safety interest as well," Levesque said.
"Frankly, we were concerned if we made too big a statement on what was going on, the individual may flee."
Police placed Marki under 24-hour covert surveillance after a fire at the home of the 60-year-old Wilfred Pott and 50-year-old Anne Chuchmuch.
Chuchmuch's identity was confirmed by DNA analysis on Jan. 15, at which time police arrested Marki on two counts of second-degree murder, arson endangering life and one count of committing an indignity to a dead body.
Marki was living with Pott and Chuchmuch at the time he's alleged to have killed them. Detectives have reason to believe the relationship between them had become strained.
"We speculate on certain motives and we can't say for sure what it is but we do know there were some rocky roads in the relationship recently," said Det. Shawn Harrison.
Police say the arson endangering life charge relates to the neighbour, who lived in the other side of the duplex Marki is accused of setting on fire. No details will be available on the indignity charge until the Centre for Forensic Sciences completes its analysis.
Although police would not release specifics on Marki's history, officers described him as having a "significant criminal background" outside of Thunder Bay, most recently in Toronto.
The double homicide brings Thunder Bay's 2015 murder count to three, a drastic fall from the city's 11 homicides in 2014. Levesque urged the public to see the lives behind the numbers.
"We can't lose sight of the fact that there are living victims from these things as well: family members and friends," he said.
"In this particular case, these two individuals had turned their lives around and were attempting to help others do the same. That kind of loss for the families and friends and the community -- these people are trying to make our community healthier and that's a real loss."
