A 42-year-old man known to police appeared in court today to face a second-degree murder charge in connection with the homicide of a wheelchair-bound man who was found dead in his apartment last winter.

Seventy-three-year-old Larry Chartier's lifeless body was discovered in the bedroom of his Sandy Hill community housing unit on Chapel Crescent early in the morning on March 16.

Chartier, who used a wheelchair to get around, was apparently beaten to death.

He was estranged from his family, and many who knew him described him as an angry, lonely old man.

At the time of Chartier's death, neighbours told reporters he often had run-ins with police. It was also reported that he was believed to let drug dealers into his unit.

Michael Douglas Scales, who police sources say is a known addict and low-level drug dealer, is now charged with one count of second-degree murder.

Scales has a criminal record and was nabbed during an Ottawa police street crime sweep in 2009. He has no fixed address.

A police source told CTV Ottawa Scales was arrested after he made a confession to an undercover police officer.