A CANADIAN nurse has been charged with the murders of eight elderly people under her care at nursing homes in southwestern Ontario over a seven-year period, police said Tuesday.

    Woodstock Police Chief William Renton said Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer, 49, was charged with first-degree murder in the killings that took place between 2007 and 2014.

    “The victims were administered a drug. We’re not in a position at this time to comment further on the specifics of the drug as it forms part of the evidence that is now before the courts,” Ontario Provincial Police detective Dave Truax said.

    Truax would only say that a number of drugs were stored and accessible in the nursing homes where the suspect worked.

    Police said they were first alerted to the deaths Sept. 29 and arrested Wettlaufer on Monday. They said she appeared in court Tuesday morning and was remanded into custody until Nov. 2.

    A lawyer for Wettlaufer could not immediately be reached.

    The investigation is ongoing and officials said more charges could be brought in the future. Police would not speak to a possible motive.

    “This is an extremely distressing and tragic ... thing for all of the families involved,” said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. “... The police have made it clear there’s no threat to safety and we now need to let the police do their job.”

    Wettlaufer, of Woodstock, was employed by Caressant Care Nursing and Retirement Homes, which operates 15 facilities in small Ontario towns.(SD-Agencies)