Kevin Edward Rushton, 25, whose wife, Sonja Rushton, 20, was found stabbed to death March 30 in her home in Faro, was originally charged with second-degree murder.

But after the RCMP returned from an investigation in Truro, N.S. – the couple’s home province – they were able to have the charge bumped up.

To have someone be found guilty of committing first-degree murder, prosecutors must prove there was premeditation.

After talking to witnesses in Nova Scotia between April 15 and 21, investigators said, they were able to find what they consider evidence of such planning.

After her mother’s death, the couple’s young daughter was placed temporarily in the care of social services officials. She is now living with her maternal grandmother.

At the time of the murder, police reported that the killer fled the house with the little girl.

A former employee of a Truro plastic factory, Rushton was arrested when he showed up with the child in a neighbor’s back yard shortly after midnight on the night of the killing.

Sonja Rushton, a grocery store clerk, moved to Faro last summer without her husband.

Rushton, who is in custody in Whitehorse, was to appear in court this afternoon to have a date set for a preliminary hearing.

At a court appearance last week, Rushton was ordered not to contact three women involved in the case.

Apparently, he had tried to make collect phone calls to the women, who prosecutors say might be used as witnesses in any trial.

By Kathleen Goldhar, Star Reporter