Charge laid in Donelan murder
Erica Blyth, 40, of Newcastle Creek, was arrested at her home Wednesday, almost a year and a half after victim was reported missing
More than a year after Minto resident Brandon Patrick Donelan was reported missing and later found dead, the RCMP has arrested and charged a suspect in the homicide investigation.
Erica Blyth, 40, of Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek, near Minto, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Thursday and was charged with first-degree murder in Donelan’s death.
She was represented Thursday by Fredericton defence lawyer T.J. Burke.
The charge alleges Blyth killed Donelan in Chipman on Jan. 28, 2022.
Judge Mary Jane Richards set the case over to Sept. 6 and remanded the defendant until that time.
Blyth - who was clad in a yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase “I’m a ray of fucking sunshine” in black letters - said nothing aloud during her brief court appearance, save for a quick whispered exchange with Burke.
No bail hearing was scheduled because with murder charges, the Criminal Code of Canada dictates defendants are automatically held in custody pending the outcome of the case.
However, Blyth has the option to apply to the next level of court, the Court of King’s Bench, for a bail hearing at a later date.
Murder charges are automatically to be dealt with in Canada at a superior level of court - in New Brunswick, the Court of King’s Bench.
However, a preliminary hearing will be held in provincial court to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to set the case over for trial in King’s Bench.
Donelan, 27, was reported as missing to police Jan. 30, 2022, prompting a significant search effort in the area of Minto and Chipman.
Members of the RCMP’s major crime unit and the force’s helicopter unit participated in the search in late February 2022.
Donelan’s body was found in a wooded area near a snowmobile trail March 31, 2022, the RCMP reported in a news release last year.
“The investigation has determined the man's death to be the result of a homicide,” the release said.
It noted that as part of its investigation into Donelan’s death, Mounties executed a search warrant at a Wasson Road home in Newcastle Creek, near Minto, on April 4, 2022.
The RCMP said a woman was arrested at that location at the time. However, she was released.
The Mounties were back in the Wasson Road area this week in connection with the case.
The force issued an alert on Twitter at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, advising that officers were conducting a police operation in Newcastle Creek at Wasson Road and Route 690.
In a followup post shortly after 2:30 p.m., the RCMP reported the operation had concluded, but that officers were remaining in the area as part of the investigation.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Stephane Esculier told the Fredericton Independent on Wednesday evening that officers arrested an individual at that time, though he declined to say on what file.
However, it’s now known that it was Blyth who was arrested Wednesday to face the murder charge.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.