Chipman man charged in double homicide
Mark Elley, 42, faces first-degree murder counts in deaths of Robbie Waugh, Victoria King
A Chipman man has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of a man and woman found in a torched SUV in Chipman in November, the RCMP reports.
Mark Elley, 42, of Chipman, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Fredericton provincial court Monday, the New Brunswick RCMP said in a news release.
The allegations stem from the deaths of Robert (Robbie) Wayne Waugh, 47, and Victoria King, 23, both of the Fredericton area.
Their bodies were found in a burning Chevrolet Equinox off Midland Road in Chipman the morning of Nov. 25, the RCMP reported previously.
The release said members of the RCMP’s major crime unit, West district detachment and emergency response team arrested Elley at a home on Route 123 in Chipman on Sunday in connection to the double homicide.
Elley has been remanded and is set to appear back before a provincial court judge Feb. 10.
The investigation is ongoing, the RCMP said in the release.
The RCMP’s major crime unit released a photo of a red Corolla on Dec. 10 it said was believed to be linked to the homicides.
It’s unclear at this point if that car has any connection to Elley.
People charged with murder don’t have an automatic right to bail. Such defendants have to apply to the Court of King’s Bench for a bail hearing if they so choose.
Those charged with murder also don’t have the option of choosing their mode of trial, as such cases are automatically directed to the Court of King’s Bench for trial by judge and jury, unless the provincial attorney general consents to a judge-alone trial.
Typically, a preliminary inquiry would be held in provincial court to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to set such a case over for a jury trial at the higher level of court, but in recent years, the Crown has filed preferred indictments in homicide cases.
That’s an option available under the Criminal Code of Canada to allow the prosecution to skip the preliminary-inquiry phase.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
