US EditionInvestigation finds no police misconduct in collapse of New Brunswick murder trials
An independent review identified systemic flaws and a key evidentiary error that led to stayed murder charges, prompting 19 reform recommendations accepted by Fredericton Police Chief Forward.
- On Dec. 12, 2025, Fredericton Police Chief Gary Forward accepted the independent review's findings and pledged to implement a formal oversight framework.
- A detective discovered an evidentiary issue that prompted the Crown to stay murder charges on June 27, 2025, tied directly to a police error affecting Fredericton region prosecutions.
- Ian D. Scott and Andrea Gallant reviewed major-crime files from 2021 to 2025, interviewed senior officers and victims' families, found no willful obstruction but noted limits in complex cases; Scott wrote, `I have never heard of such a singular event.`
- The stays halted prosecutions, leaving no convictions for the deaths of Corey Markey and Brandon Donelan, and Chief Gary Forward said charges are unlikely to be revived though no police faced discipline.
- Chief Gary Forward will start implementing 19 recommendations in the coming months and provide quarterly public updates to the city of Fredericton and provincial Department of Justice and Public Safety, including an envisaged review of unsolved major-case files.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Fredericton chief commits to action on report into collapsed murder cases
An error by Fredericton police that thwarted murder prosecutions this year won't result in criminal charges or disciplinary proceedings, but the police chief says a series of recommended policy changes will be enacted.
Report following stayed murder cases offers recommendations, but no answers
An independent investigator who conducted a review into police practices after a stay in murder charges against five people this year has issued 19 recommendations after finding “limitations” and “inconsistencies” in how the Fredericton Police Force handles complex crime cases.
Winnipeg Free Press
Investigation finds no police misconduct in collapse of New Brunswick murder trials
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
An investigation into an error by the Fredericton police, which forced the prosecution to withdraw from two murder trials, provides very little clarification as to why these cases failed.
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