Fredericton police ‘error’ that ended murder cases prompts police commission complaint

Documents show the Fredericton police filed a complaint with the New Brunswick Police Commission over an error by the force that scuttled murder cases this year.

The complaint says the stayed charges against five people “raise serious and legitimate questions regarding the adequacy of investigative procedures, including, but not limited to, [Fredericton Police Force’s] Major Case Management systems and processes.”

A copy of the complaint was among documents recently released by the city and police force in response to right-to-information requests from CBC News. The documents don’t reveal the nature of the error that led to the collapse of the cases.

The records offer a glimpse into how officials handled the development, including telling elected officials to avoid answering media questions.

On June 27, Fredericton-region murder 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.

Chief Gary Forward has said an error in the city force's investigation into Markey’s death led to the stays and also affected the RCMP investigation into Donelan's death. How the error affected both hasn’t been explained.

Forward has referred to building trust through “timely communication and transparency” in statements, but he has not provided an interview on the issue since the charges were stayed. The force has instead only issued written statements when asked for interviews.

Forward announced in July that Ontario lawyer Ian D. Scott would carry out a review and issue a report, but the nature of the error would remain secret. The police force has said it is limited in what it can release, citing the Canada Evidence Act. It won’t say which section of that law applies.

The documents recently released to CBC include an email Forward sent police chiefs across the province hours before the charges were stayed. Forward wrote that a suspect, who he didn’t name, “was set to plead guilty next week but instead, will be set free on both matters.” Only McIsaac was charged in both homicides. 

McIsaac’s lawyer, Nathan Gorham, told CBC his client always denied involvement in a first-degree murder, “but we were pursuing a resolution for lesser offences when the Crown unexpectedly stayed the charges.”

First-degree murder is a charge for a homicide that’s premeditated and deliberate, while lesser offences can include second-degree murder or manslaughter.

Forward’s June 27 email to other chiefs says he had already conveyed his regret to the RCMP about the error and that he was sorry he couldn’t share more information.