Oct 31, 2006 - 01:00 AM

By Jeff Mitchell

DURHAM -- Four months after the discovery of a Brockville area trucker's body in Pickering, Durham police have charged a man with first-degree murder.

Durham homicide investigators working in conjunction with Montreal police made the arrest in Brampton Friday, charging 49-year-old Paul Cyr of Montreal with first-degree murder, forcible confinement, use of a firearm and theft over $5,000. Police allege Mr. Cyr hijacked 35-year-old Donald Woods and killed him, making off with the load of chicken Mr. Woods was hauling in his truck.

Mr. Cyr appeared in bail court in Oshawa Saturday and was remanded in custody. Police are releasing few other details of the arrest, citing the integrity of the investigation.

Mr. Woods was found dead in his truck June 23 after a citizen, who had seen the rig parked behind the Pickering Wal-Mart store on Brock Road 24 hours earlier, became concerned. Mr. Woods, of Athens, Ont., had been shot; his cargo, $40,000 worth of fresh, air-chilled chicken, was gone.

The theft of the chicken became a central theme in the investigation. At a press conference in July Durham police described the cargo and its distinctive packaging in hopes the information might lead to tips from restaurateurs or other consumers.

At the press briefing, investigators outlined Mr. Woods's last known movements. He said goodbye to his wife in Brockville around 9 p.m. June 21, before heading west on Hwy. 401 to the GTA. He was last seen at a Belleville-area truck stop later that night and his truck was first observed parked behind the Wal-Mart around 8 a.m. June 22.

At that briefing Mr. Woods's widow made an emotional appeal for information in the case.

Police said after the arrest Friday they believe Mr. Woods was forcibly seized and murdered, his cargo hijacked and taken to the Toronto area. It's believed the chicken was sold, police said.