Man charged with second- degree murder in death of SFU scientist
Police say pair had ‘ on- again, off- again relationship’
A man charged in the death of a gifted young Simon Fraser University scientist had an “on- again, off- again” relationship with the woman before she was brutally slain, Vancouver police said Monday.
Melanie O’neill, 37, was killed in her Mount Pleasant apartment July 22, 2011.
Matthew James Scott, who turns 26 today, was picked up Saturday and charged with second- degree murder in O’neill’s death.
At the time of the murder, Scott was wanted on outstanding warrants in Alberta. And he has previous convictions in Alberta and Ontario for forgery, impaired driving, car theft, and failing to comply with court- ordered conditions.
Vancouver Police department Insp. Brad Desmarais said O’neill and Scott “had an on- again, off- again relationship over several months. The nature of that relationship we prefer not to get into out of respect for her privacy. It was a relationship that I think was on a number of levels.”
Desmarais said Scott would stay at O’neill’s suite in a triplex in the 100block of East 13th. “I think they were friends mostly,” he said.
O’neill was considered a pioneer in the field of biophysical and biological chemistry. She was one of only a few scientists internationally researching how humans use light to synchronize their metabolic and behavioural patterns with the outside world.
She had been at SFU since 2005 and was preparing to move into a house she had purchased in Burnaby when she was killed.
“The life of a brilliant young scientist was snuffed out,” Desmarais said.
He said he couldn’t get into the motive or cause of death now that the case is before the courts.
Nor would he reveal whether the investigation used a so- called Mr. Big scenario, where undercover operators pose as underworld figures to befriend suspects and elicit confessions.
At its peak, there were more than 40 officers from several jurisdictions working on the murder case, he said.
“Unfortunately very few murder investigations are straightforward,” Desmarais said. “The investigative techniques that were deployed in this we can’t discuss at this moment because they are before the courts and some of them are sensitive in nature.”
Det. Paul Dungey, who described O’neill’s death as “a loss to her family, friends and the academic community,” said investigators zeroed in on Scott right away. “Investigators worked tirelessly to implement various investigative strategies to gather evidence to charge Scott with the offence,” he said. “Today is the culmination of that seven- month investigation into the murder of Dr. O’neill.”
Dungey confirmed that Scott was arrested shortly after the killing, but released without charges. He was picked up Saturday near Broadway and Cambie and has been living in Vancouver in recent months, he said.
Since the murder, Scott has also faced criminal charges in the Fraser Valley. He was charged with assault causing bodily harm for an incident at Cultus Lake on Sept. 11 and also with wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer on Oct. 5 in Chilliwack.
Scott was remanded in custody until his next appearance in Vancouver Provincial Court on Wednesday.