Murder suspects get defence lawyers
Joshua John MacIsaac, 33, charged in two separate homicide investigations, and Travis James Snowsell, 26, have retained legal counsel, court hears Wednesday
A Penniac man facing murder charges in two killings a month apart has retained counsel, a court heard Wednesday, and his two co-accused have ended up with the same defence lawyer.
The files of three defendants charged in two separate murder cases were back before Fredericton provincial court Wednesday afternoon to check on progress.
Joshua John McIsaac, 33, and Travis James Snowsell, 26, both from the same address on Penniac Road in Penniac, are jointly charged with second-degree murder in the December 2021 shooting death of Corey Christopher Markey.
Furthermore, McIsaac is charged jointly with Erica Blyth, 40, of Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek near Grand Lake, with first-degree murder in the Jan. 28, 2022, death in Chipman of Brandon Patrick Donelan.
All three defendants were to appear before Judge Cameron Gunn at the Fredericton courthouse Wednesday afternoon.
Fredericton lawyer Alexandra Youssef appeared Wednesday as agent for defence counsel Nathan Gorham, who’s representing McIsaac on both murder charges.
Furthermore, Fredericton defence lawyer T.J. Burke was also on hand, as he has been representing Blyth since her arrest last month in the Donelan homicide investigation.
In an odd turn of events, just as there’s one defendant in common with both murder files, there’s now one defence lawyer in common on both files.
Burke told the court he’s been retained as counsel for Snowsell in the Markey homicide case as well.
He said his firm accepted a certificate from the Legal Aid Services Commission of New Brunswick to represent Snowsell, but he hasn’t had a chance to confer with his new client.
“I’ve had no communication with Mr. Snowsell whatsoever,” Burke said.
The lawyers noted they hadn’t received disclosure in either case, and asked for adjournments to obtain it from the Crown prosecutors’ office and to review it.
Gunn adjourned Blyth’s matter to Sept. 6.
Blyth in person for Wednesday’s proceedings. McIsaac and Snowsell were scheduled to appear in court by video-conference from Dorchester Penitentiary, where they’re serving sentences for unrelated matters.
However, there were technical issues, and Gunn said the prison’s video conference system appeared to be having issues interfacing with the court’s recording system Wednesday.
As such, he adjourned McIsaac’s and Snowsell’s matters to Aug. 8.
Because they didn’t appear formally before the court despite being in custody, the judge issued arrest warrants for them, to be held on the file, but that was only to maintain the court’s jurisdiction over them in the two files.
All three defendants are in custody, as remand is automatic in murder cases. However, murder defendants can apply to the Court of King’s Bench for a bail hearing if they so choose.
As noted earlier, Snowsell and McIsaac are serving federal prison terms, and Blyth has yet to apply for a bail hearing.
McIsaac is subject to no-communication orders with his co-defendants, and vice versa.
Markey, 41, was shot just after 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2021, along Paul Street at Sitanisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation on the north side of Fredericton.
He was rushed to hospital but died eight days later as a result of his injuries.
Donelan, 27, who’s reported as having been killed Jan. 28, 2022, was reported missing to police Jan. 30, 2022, which prompted a major search of the Minto/Chipman area by RCMP and other supporting agencies.
His body was located March 31, 2022, in a wooded area along a snowmobile trail in the area.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
I wonder if drugs were involved? Sarcasism.
I'm interested in knowing what book Blyth has in her hands. Also, is it not a Conflict of Interest for Burke to be representing Snowsell, whom is co-accused on a separate murder charge (separate, insofar as we know) with the same individual as Blyth?