Disclosure process ongoing in two murders
Lawyers for Joshua John McIsaac, 33; Travis James Snowsell, 26; and Erica Blyth, 40; co-ordinating schedules to determine availability for preliminary inquiries
Three suspects in two separate murder prosecutions will be back in court later this month, as their lawyers asked Wednesday for additional adjournments for disclosure.
Separate murder charges against Joshua John McIsaac, 33, formerly of Penniac Road in Penniac, were back before Fredericton provincial court Wednesday.
McIsaac is charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 28, 2022, death of Brandon Patrick Donelan and with second-degree murder in the December 2021 shooting death of Corey Christopher Markey.
Also charged jointly with McIsaac in the Donelan murder is Erica Blyth, 40, of Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek. Furthermore, Travis James Snowsell, 26, formerly of Penniac Road in Penniac, is charged jointly with McIsaac in the Markey murder case.
Both cases and all three defendants were on the provincial court docket Wednesday.
Defence lawyer T.J. Burke, who represents Blyth, and lawyer Alexandra Youssef, appearing as an agent for McIsaac’s defence counsel Nathan Gorham, asked for the Donelan murder case to be set over to Sept. 22.
Burke said the extra time was needed to complete the process of obtaining remaining disclosure of the Crown file and to review that information.
Furthermore, he said, he and Gorham’s office needed to co-ordinate their schedules to determine when they’d both be available for the preliminary inquiry in the case.
Murder cases are heard in the Court of King’s Bench by a judge and jury, but preliminary inquiries are held in provincial court to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to set a matter over for trial at the higher level of court.
Blyth appeared in court by telephone from jail for Wednesday’s proceedings. McIsaac was scheduled to appear by video from prison, but there were technical issues with that connection.
Judge Lucie Mathurin set the case over to Sept. 22 as requested, and she noted she’s order the defendants to be brought to court in person for that appearance.
New counsel on record
Snowsell - who, like McIsaac, is also serving time in federal prison on unrelated charges - did appear in custody and in person in provincial court Wednesday for the Markey homicide prosecution.
He’d previously been represented by Burke, who asked last month to be removed from the record due to a conflict.
Saint John defence lawyer Brian Munro appeared Wednesday as Snowsell’s new lawyer.
Munro also asked for the matter to be adjourned to Sept. 22.
“I’m just obtaining disclosure today,” he said.
Gorham represents McIsaac on that file as well.
Mathurin set the matter over to Sept. 22 as well to schedule a preliminary inquiry, and again, she said she’d order the defendants to be brought to court to appear in person at that time.
Markey, 41, died in hospital Dec. 29, 2021, after he was shot on Paul Street in Sitanisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation on Fredericton’s north side at about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2021.
Donelan’s body was found along a snowmobile trail March 31, 2022, but he’d been reported missing to police Jan. 30, 2022.
That report prompted a major police search, both on the ground and from the air, of the Minto and Chipman area for Donelan, 27.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.