Arrest made in N.S. teacher's 2005 slaying

Police in Halifax have arrested a manin the 2005 killing of Paula Gallant, a 36-year-old Grade 3 teacher.

Sources have told CBC News that Gallant's husband, Jason MacRae, was arrested on Tuesday morning.

Police would not confirm the name of the arrested man and say no charges have been laid.

"Today the RCMP/Halifax Regional Police Integrated Major Crimes Section have arrested a male suspect in the Paula Gallant homicide," said RCMP Cpl. Joe Taplin.

"The investigation is continuing throughout the day and will probably continue into the evening as well."

Gallant, a teacher at Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea Elementary School, was found dead in the trunk of her car in the school parking lot on Dec. 28, 2005.

At around 9 a.m. Tuesday, officers knocked on the door of MacRae's home at 41 Silver Maple Dr. in Timberlea. A woman believed to be his mother answered the door.

"It's about Jason, ma'am. Can we come in?" an officer askedbefore moving inside to speak with the woman. Forensics officers began photographing the home, appearing to focus on a basement window.A piece of Gyproc was cut and removed from a wall inside.

Police have not said what development led to the arrest almost five years after the killing.

"It was a 4-year investigation," Taplin said. "It took a lot of dedicated members a lot of endless hours to gather the evidence and with the dedication of the members and the hard work they put in led to the arrest today of the suspect."

Police have until Wednesday morning to decide if they will charge the suspect. The public prosecution service said it has been advising police on the case, butdid not say if it recommended the arrest.

Gallant was reported missing at about 10 p.m. on Dec. 27, 2005,after she failed to return home from a shopping trip to Bayers Lake Business Park.

Her body was found at about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 28. Police said the death was a homicide. Her last known conversation was with her sister at about 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 27.

Gallant, a Glace Bay, N.S.,native, died a week before her daughter's first birthday.

A memorial website describes Gallant as a "beautiful friend and teacher, as well as a gifted artist who lived every day to the fullest."

It adds that she was "ripped from our lives at the hands of a monster."