Prelim dates set in two homicide prosecutions
Joshua John McIsaac, 33, and Erica Blyth, 40, accused of first-degree murder while McIsaac and Travis James Snowsell, 26; face second-degree murder charge
Hearings to determine if the Crown has sufficient evidence to send two murder cases to trial before juries will be held in the spring of 2024.
Three suspects in two separate murder investigations were present in custody in Fredericton provincial court Friday along with their legal counsel.
Joshua John McIsaac, 33, formerly of Penniac, and Erica Blyth, 40, of Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek near Chipman, are accused of first-degree murder in the Jan. 28, 2022 death of Brandon Patrick Donelan.
Lawyer Alexandra Youssef, acting as an agent for defence counsel Nathan Gorham, appeared on McIsaac’s behalf, and lawyer T.J. Burke was on hand to represent Blyth.
After some discussion about the availability of Crown witnesses and defence counsel, Judge Mary Jane Richards scheduled the preliminary inquiry in the Donelan murder case for April 5, 19 and 26.
Preliminary inquiries are held in provincial court in cases involving more serious, indictable charges to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to set cases over for trial at a higher level of court. In New Brunswick, that step up in the justice system is the Court of King’s Bench. Â
Counsel for Blyth and McIsaac were directed to have the issues they wished to explore at the hearing to the Crown by Feb. 15.
McIsaac was also in provincial court Friday on another homicide prosecution. He and Travis James Snowsell, 26, who also lived at the same Penniac address as McIsaac did, are charged with second-degree murder in the death of Corey Christopher Markey.
Youssef was present to represent McIsaac on that file as well, and Saint John defence lawyer Brian Munro attended as Snowsell’s counsel Friday.
Richards scheduled the preliminary inquiry in that case for May 17 and 21, directing the defence to have the relevant issues to the Crown’s office by March 15.
All three suspects in the two cases have been remanded pending the outcome of the prosecutions, and McIsaac and Snowsell are being held at Dorchester Penitentiary as they’re serving other federal sentences.
The court previously ordered the trio to have no communication with one another until the cases conclude as well. That required deputy sheriffs to transport them in separate vehicles and to hold them in separate spaces at the Justice Building in Fredericton, creating some unique logistical challenges for Friday’s proceedings.
McIsaac appeared in the courtroom prisoner’s dock for Friday’s appearance, while Blyth and Snowsell were seated apart in the former courtroom jury box.Â
Donelan was reported as missing to the RCMP’s Minto detachment Jan. 30, 2022, prompting a major ground and air search effort, to no avail.
However, the RCMP found his body along a snowmobile trail March 31, 2022. Blyth and McIsaac were charged with murder in June of this year.
Markey, 41, was shot on Paul Street in Sitanisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation in Fredericton at about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2021. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital eight days later.
The Fredericton Police Force laid the joint second-degree murder charge against McIsaac and Snowsell in June as well.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.