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Family of a 40-year-old woman found slain in an Edmonton apartment six years ago say Christmas has become a little brighter now that police have charged a man known as the “Mill Woods rapist” with her killing.

Dana Fash, 38, was arrested Monday and charged with second-degree murder, days after a police warning that he had been released from prison. He is a convicted rapist with a long criminal history, having served multiple sentences for breaching his conditions.

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Jeanette Marie Cardinal was found slain in her home near on 119 Avenue and 81 Street in February 2011.

Her daughter, Theresa Cardinal, said Thursday that news of an arrest has buoyed the family after so many years of silence about her slaying.

“My family is grateful that they finally found somebody and it’s honestly the best Christmas gift that I’ve had in a very long time,” said Cardinal from her Edmonton home.

Photo by Shaughn Butts / Edmonton Journal

“Over the past six years, she missed so much of mine, my brothers’ and my sisters’ lives. We all achieved things she had wanted us to achieve and we still think of her to this day and we talk about her all the time. Christmas is her favourite season, so maybe she’s happy.”