REGINA -- A family member is worried about the well-being of a man who was recently charged with first degree murder over the death of his brother.
The family member, who wishes not to be named, said Joe Thauberger, 78, would likely die from COVID-19 if he were infected while in custody.
They said he suffers from congestive heart failure, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"He's kind of in pretty bad shape as it is and that would probably, you know, really be the end of him," said the family member.
Thauberger was charged Sunday following a 23-year-old investigation over the alleged killing of his brother, Pat.
Thauberger also faces charges of committing an indignity to a dead body and uttering threats to a woman from 1997 to 2014.
Joe was allegedly the last person to have seen his brother, Pat, when he dropped him off at the former bus depot in Regina on September 3, 1997.
The family member said they would be surprised if Joe had something to do with Pat's disappearance.
They said that Pat was dealing with stress and anxiety at the time.
"They had always been the kind of type of family that had each other's backs for things and were really quite close-knit," the family member said.
This family member said the Regina Police Service hasn't told the family about any new evidence that led to Joe's arrest.
"If something terrible happens to Pat, everyone does want to see justice for him," the family member said. "They want to have closure. We want to know what happened to him. But we also want there to be real facts and real information."
