Teen suspects’ apparent deaths don’t end probe
Probe advances despite suspects’ apparent deaths
As investigators in Manitoba await autopsy results on two bodies believed to be high-profile B.C. murder suspects, the probe into the mystery behind the pair shows no sign of slackening.
Even with the apparent deaths of Kam Mcleod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, it is incumbent upon the RCMP to keep pursuing their investigation as if they were going to take the case to court, says Wayne Fowler, a retired homicide detective with the Toronto Police Service.
“The last thing an investigator wants is 10 years down the road, a deathbed confession (from someone else) saying, ‘It wasn’t them, it was me.’”
So far, RCMP officials have been tight-lipped about what evidence they have gathered against the pair who were wanted in connection with a trio of killings last month in northern B.C. They have acknowledged it may be “extremely difficult” to pinpoint a motive for the slayings.
“I know that investigators are going to be in the area where the bodies were discovered for some time, conducting scene analysis and searching for any other additional evidence,” Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet, a B.C. RCMP spokeswoman, told the National Post.
Shoihet said Thursday she’s not aware of any notes that the suspects may have left behind.
Fowler said it’s likely that investigators have canvassed the suspects’ family, friends and social media accounts and are now focused on retracing the steps they may have taken in recent weeks to see if anything might have been discarded along the way. Investigators will also likely be comparing evidence gathered in the area where the bodies were found near Gillam, Man., to evidence collected at the original crime scenes in northern B.C.
“The more information you can gather of their movements may help you with their mindset … to give you that big picture,” he said, adding: “Everybody wants a motive, but unfortunately sometimes you don’t get one.”
The human remains were found in dense brush Wednesday morning not far from the shores of the Nelson River, where a damaged aluminum rowboat and other items directly linked to the suspects were recovered days earlier.
Police had initially declared Mcleod and Schmegelsky as missing persons but then later deemed them suspects.
Mcleod and Schmegelsky were facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of Leonard Dyck, a university lecturer from Vancouver who was found dead along a highway pullout south of Dease Lake, B.C., on July 19.
They were also named as suspects in the shooting deaths of American tourist Chynna Deese and her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Fowler. Their bodies were found four days earlier along a highway near Liard Hot Springs, B.C.
RCMP officials have said there is “significant evidence” linking the two crime scenes but have not elaborated.
Wayne Fowler, who has no relation to the victim, said there could be any number of possibilities. Perhaps investigators recovered fingerprints, DNA or firearms evidence that links the crime scenes. Maybe an item was taken from the first crime scene and found at the second crime scene.
During the manhunt, Alan Schmegelsky said his son had a troubled upbringing and that he expected the young men wanted “to go out in a blaze of glory.”
It is unclear how the two individuals believed to be the suspects died. Fowler said it would be premature to assume that it was a double suicide. Maybe it was a murder-suicide or perhaps they died from the elements, he said.
It is also not known how long the bodies may have been lying there. The longer the time frame, the greater the likelihood that the bodies may have come into contact with wildlife, Fowler said.
Meanwhile, John Mcdonald, the deputy mayor of Gillam, said Thursday it will be a long time before things in the community return to normal.
“We were still locking everything up, you know. We kept the door locked during the day when we were in the house and same with the vehicles,” he said.
Many locals are wondering whether the fugitives had planned their route to Gillam or got lost while on the run.
“Did they run here because they didn’t look at a map and made the wrong turn? Or did they come here on purpose to do exactly what they did?” Mcdonald said.
“If they didn’t leave some kind of message, then we are never going to know.”