Due to what Fredericton Police Force are calling an “insurmountable evidentiary issue,” the proceedings of three murder trials in New Brunswick have been stayed, meaning the five accused won’t stand trial.
Erica Blyth and Joshua McIsaac faced charges of first-degree murder in the 2022 death of Brandon Donelan, 27, in Minto, N.B.
Devon Hood and Matthew LeBlanc were also set to be tried separately on the same charges in the same case.
McIsaac also faced a second-degree murder charge, along with Travis Snowsell, in the 2021 shooting of Corey Markey in Fredericton.
However, an error admitted by Fredericton Police Force has caused all three proceedings to be stayed.
“The reason for the stay of proceedings is the result of an “insurmountable evidentiary issue” linked directly to an error initiated, discovered and subsequently reported to the Crown by the Fredericton Police Force,” wrote Chief Gary Forward in a statement.
“Our error has further detrimentally impacted on a similar major crime investigation by a partner agency.”
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Nathan Gorham, McIsaac’s lawyer, says he hasn’t seen multiple murder cases stayed due to an error but is confident as to why details of the decision are being kept under wraps.
“I have seen cases where errors that were subject to some kind of privilege made it so the prosecution was no longer viable,” he said.
In legal proceedings, the Crown is required to disclose everything in its possession that is relevant to the defence. However, if that information is subject to privilege, they are not permitted to disclose it.
And if that undermines trial fairness, it can lead to stay.
“Whatever happened went straight to the heart of the fairness of the case and (the Crown) would have been left with no choice,” said Gorham.
He adds that these decisions are not made lightly.
“I defended a case in Ontario a few years back where the entire evidence locker burned down, so all the evidence was lost in a homicide case, every last piece of evidence was lost and the Crown still proceeded with the trial,” he said.
Chief Forward apologized for the error, and says his department will be conducting an independent review.
“We cannot begin to gauge or comprehend the profound effect this will have on the victims’ families and those closest to the investigations,” wrote Forward in his statement.
“It is, however, our obligation to take full responsibility for the issue and apologize for what has led to these stays of proceedings.”
After the decision, Donelan’s sister, Jessica, posted on Facebook that the family was not receiving justice.
“Our families get no justice, no witness statement, no closure and no ability to feel safe in our communities,” she wrote.
Gorham says given the complexity of the situation, the Fredericton Police review will likely not provide any further closure, although it’s possible these cases could be re-opened at some point.
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