Fredericton police chief commits to changes after collapsed murder cases
CBC
An error by Fredericton police that thwarted murder prosecutions this year won't result in criminal charges or disciplinary proceedings, but the police chief says a series of recommended policy changes will be enacted.
Murder charges against five people related to two Fredericton-area homicides were stayed in June, effectively ending the cases. The nature of the problem that led to the stayed charges hasn't been released.
Ian D. Scott, an Ontario lawyer hired by the force to review what happened, described it Friday as "obstruction of justice," because the accused weren’t tried. But he didn’t call for criminal charges.
"What happened here was just regrettable and really more a systemic failure, as opposed to one individual who was committing any form of criminal act," Scott told reporters Friday.
Scott outlined his findings and released a report at a news conference Friday alongside Fredericton Police Force Chief Gary Forward.
Scott said there could have been a disciplinary charge of "neglect of duty" under the provincial Police Act against a member of the police force. However, that won’t happen since the person no longer works for the police.
The chief said the person left before the error was discovered. Their role and name were not disclosed Friday.
Scott’s report has 19 recommendations related to investigations of major crimes like homicides. They include staffing changes, training, file management, updating policies and procedures, and exploring an integrated provincial homicide unit.
Scott said other recommendations related to the error have not been made public, as they could reveal the nature of the error.
“We fully accept the findings of the independent review and are committed to implementing all 19 recommendations,” Chief Forward told reporters.
“These recommendations will strengthen our training, oversight, file management and staffing.”
On June 27, Fredericton-region homicide cases came to a halt when the Crown stayed charges against Erica Lea Ann Blyth, Joshua John McIsaac, Devon Mark Hill Hood, Matthew David LeBlanc and Travis James Snowsell.
Blyth, McIsaac, Hood and LeBlanc were accused of killing Brandon Donelan. McIsaac was also accused, along with Snowsell, of killing Corey Markey.
Markey was shot on Fredericton's north side early on Dec. 21, 2022, and died in hospital eight days later. Donelan was reported missing Jan. 30, 2022. His body was found in a wooded area off a snowmobile trail between Minto and Chipman on March 31, 2022.
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