Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #13

[Zella]

Many years ago, I worked with a young man their age who killed someone with a rifle, and who was eventually found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

It turned out that a lot of people, including adult family members and school teachers, knew, or should have known, for a long time that there was a problem.

I would not be surprised if, in retrospect, it is clear that there should have been an intervention with these guys a long time ago.

I think BS clearly demonstrated a lot of red flags that seem to have gone unreported--threatening suicide, threatening classmates, making disturbing comments. They led to him losing friends but no real action otherwise. KM seems to have come across a lot more normal, but I suspect there were still signs with him that were ignored simply because he wasn't an overtly ticking time-bomb like his friend.

 

[Zella]

Jeez I just have to say what a good laugh I just had at "Schmelnitsky", just cause I had the hardest time pronouncing the "Schmegelsky" name even in my head at first, and saw a good amount of news reporters also struggling with the name. LOL. Carry on.

It's a bit of a mouthful! Honestly, and this is probably embarrassing to fess up to, but the last name McLeod stumped me more. I was pronouncing it in my head quite phonetically, and when I first heard a newscaster say it, I felt like a moron.

 

[Snoop Sister]

I think it's possible they delighted in confounding people. I also wonder if, deep down, Kam despised his family, though they really do seem normal to all appearances. But quite a bit of his actions on this trip are the equivalent of basically giving them a middle finger. Bryer, too, but I can see why he would be mad at his parents and want to give them the equivalent of the middle finger.

I'm not even talking about the murders. I'm talking about likely lying about where they were going, burning a truck that very well may have been a gift, not contacting them, etc.

Imoo. I think that maybe some are thinking that Kam’s home life was “normal or non dysfunctional”. Just because they may be affluent and have distanced themselves from the media circus. The little communication that was given to the media appeared carefully filtered and doesn’t mean-anything to me.

Every family has their problems and imo something MIGHT be off in that family as well. It was easy to see the dysfunction in BS’s family because his dad has mental health issues (links provided previously) and he has no filter.

 

[Zella]

Imoo. I think that maybe some are thinking that Kam’s home life was “normal or non dysfunctional”. Just because they may be affluent and have distanced themselves from the media circus. The little communication that was given to the media appeared carefully filtered and doesn’t mean-anything to me.

Every family has their problems and imo something MIGHT be off in that family as well. It was easy to see the dysfunction in BS’s family because his dad has mental health issues (links provided previously) and he has no filter.

Yes, that's certainly very true! If something was dysfunctional in that house, it seems to have been well-buried, though, since none of Kam's friends seem aware of it, whereas, of course, everyone knew Bryer's homelife wasn't great.

 

[missy1974]

It's a bit of a mouthful! Honestly, and this is probably embarrassing to fess up to, but the last name McLeod stumped me more. I was pronouncing it in my head quite phonetically, and when I first heard a newscaster say it, I felt like a moron.

I'm trying to phonetically pronounce it... It's much easier to refer to them as KM and BS or just Kam and Bryer

 

[scrappinkat]

Sorry, but I have been following this case from day 1 on WS and have never heard with a credible LINK that Dr. Dyck was burnt. Sure it was discussed on here but never substantiated.

Nothing to be sorry for I was simply replying to a post by another member that asked if anyone had heard about LD being burnt, as she had just heard in the link given of the lawyer speaking.

 

[Zella]

I'm trying to phonetically pronounce it... It's much easier to refer to them as KM and BS or just Kam and Bryer

In my head, it was "Mc-Lee-ohd." The worst part is I have a fair amount of Scottish heritage, have been very active with genealogical research on that side of the family, and, thus, really should know better! LOL

In any event, yes, I'm a big fan of initials or first names with these two, though it's not something I do with suspects in general.

 

[sprucetip]

Re the CBC interview just posted, I’ll repeat something that I suggested before.

I don’t think that the murder of Deese and Fowler was about money. Schmegelsky’s great uncle says they had “a fair amount of cash”. McLeod’s family is reasonably well off. If short, a call home would fix the problem.

I also think that they had a reasonable prospect, if they kept their cool and got rid of the murder weapon(s), of getting away with the initial murders.

Their decision to kill Dyck and steal his car sealed their fate, and surely they knew it.

Why? And why no note, assuming that there wasn’t one?

The whole thing sounds like a protracted suicide.

Yeah I don’t think money was the reason for murder either. Plus it was so soon after they left, doubt they spent all their $ in a few days.

I have said before that while driving the Alaska Highway you basically travel with others along the way. Especially if they’re going relatively the same speed. There are so few stops, that often people will stop at the same area, see each other repeatedly, talk and compare travel notes, get to know each other, etc. That also happens at extended construction zones. People will get out of their vehicles and chat with others. I really wonder if they encountered each other on the road before the murders happened.

 

[missy1974]

Imoo. I think that maybe some are thinking that Kam’s home life was “normal or non dysfunctional”. Just because they may be affluent and have distanced themselves from the media circus. The little communication that was given to the media appeared carefully filtered and doesn’t mean-anything to me.

Every family has their problems and imo something MIGHT be off in that family as well. It was easy to see the dysfunction in BS’s family because his dad has mental health issues (links provided previously) and he has no filter.

Yep, so little info about Kam that I have a hard time trying to figure out who was the leader, or who had the worst upbringing. Every family has a skeleton or 2 in the closet..... sometimes more so in families that are 'better off', because they are just better at hiding it or others hiding it for them.

 

[JuneBug67]

It's a bit of a mouthful! Honestly, and this is probably embarrassing to fess up to, but the last name McLeod stumped me more. I was pronouncing it in my head quite phonetically, and when I first heard a newscaster say it, I felt like a moron.

This made me LOL.

 

[Zella]

Yeah I don’t think money was the reason for murder either. Plus it was so soon after they left, doubt they spent all their $ in a few days.

I have said before that while driving the Alaska Highway you basically travel with others along the way. Especially if they’re going relatively the same speed. There are so few stops, that often people will stop at the same area, see each other repeatedly, talk and compare travel notes, get to know each other, etc. That also happens at extended construction zones. People will get out of their vehicles and chat with others. I really wonder if they encountered each other on the road before the murders happened.

That's very interesting! They may very well have at least seen all 3 victims and recognized them on sight before the murders for this reason.

 

[Snoop Sister]

Yep, so little info about Kam that I have a hard time trying to figure out who was the leader, or who had the worst upbringing. Every family has a skeleton or 2 in the closet..... sometimes more so in families that are 'better off', because they are just better at hiding it or others hiding it for them.

Absolutely! Better at hiding it.

 

[FactFinder3000]

Wow, did Kam really say that? I never read or heard that before! Interesting choice of words - joy ride. I think of joy ride as in a stolen car but that's just me. You think he'd say vacation, adventure, wanting to see the wilderness, etc. I think I'm looking too much into it, I just don't think I've ever used the word joy ride lol, we always said "roadtrip".

It was a joke. Here's the full exchange:

"Mom and dad's going to be pissed," Ste-Croix told the two men as he drove up. He said he figured they were local teens out for a rip in their parents' Toyota RAV4, which was stuck and covered in mud.

"They looked at me and said, 'No, mom and dad told me to go for a long joy ride," Ste-Croix said.

He said the three of them then laughed.

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudb...n-unknowingly-helps-murder-suspects-1.5229940

 

[Zella]

This made me LOL.

It's been cathartic to confess it!

 

[JuneBug67]

I'm trying to phonetically pronounce it... It's much easier to refer to them as KM and BS or just Kam and Bryer

I ALWAYS refer to suspects/perps by their last names if I’m not using initials...until this case. I simply cannot be arsed typing “Schmegelsky”. LOL. It’s long, awkward and sounds like something SNL made up for a skit.

 

[otto]

I guess we could tread down the path of how the information was disseminated, and whether all people in areas with no cell coverage could get information, and whether "suspicious death" means executed at close range by gunfire when information about weapons is withheld, or if this means another fentanyl death in the minds of average people -- but this has already been discussed at length.

We all know that police on Highway 97 (Alaska Highway), and in the recent Highway 29 incident, did not retreat citing concerns for their own safety.

So why in a remote area of Manitoba, where it would have been possible to contain and/or patrol the area, would police find it too dangerous to investigate a crime scene, yet let the public enter the area? If it was too dangerous for the police, why was a tow truck driver allowed into the area?

The explanation offered for not checking out evidence at the scene of a crime is substandard at best. Surely days and weeks later, that becomes an excuse, rather than an explanation.

I feel sorry for the tow truck driver now, wondering if the authorities informed him that he would be putting his life in danger by towing the SUV. I would really like to hear what he has to say, if any reporters are reading this. Do RCMP typically accompany tow trucks to the scene of vehicle fires up there?

Oh, boy, question period in the fall session of parliament is going to be a zinger.

I'm pretty sure that Dr Leonard Dyck relied on good old fashioned car radio for news. The idea that people need a cell phone to get information is a bit narrow in scope.

Also, as an intelligent educated man in his 60s, he would understand that a suspicious death investigated by the RCMP major crime unit means murder. That is exactly how murders are reported in Canada - always. Gun violence is always used by officials to describe shooting. There's really no excuse for anyone in Canada to act as though these terms are new.

There was no Martial Law. Citizens were not ordered to do one thing or another. They were told about the danger and free to choose whether to change their behaviour due to the warning.

The man who towed the van to the RCMP detachment was not in danger. He did not realize prior to arriving at the scene that the van was related to a murder, but that did not change anything.

What tips and evidence were not checked?

 

[NJSleuth91]

Many years ago, I worked with a young man their age who killed someone with a rifle, and who was eventually found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

It turned out that a lot of people, including adult family members and school teachers, knew, or should have known, for a long time that there was a problem.

I would not be surprised if, in retrospect, it is clear that there should have been an intervention with these guys a long time ago.

From the tiny bit we know, there were obvious flashing red signs for years. Probably there were way more we don't know about. 100% preventable.

Jeez I just have to say what a good laugh I just had at "Schmelnitsky", just cause I had the hardest time pronouncing the "Schmegelsky" name even in my head at first, and saw a good amount of news reporters also struggling with the name. LOL. Carry on.

That's the good thing about being from NY/NJ...no name is unpronounceable. Y'all would have a hell of a time trying to pronounce my husband's last name

 

[Zella]

It was a joke. Here's the full exchange:

"Mom and dad's going to be pissed," Ste-Croix told the two men as he drove up. He said he figured they were local teens out for a rip in their parents' Toyota RAV4, which was stuck and covered in mud.

"They looked at me and said, 'No, mom and dad told me to go for a long joy ride," Ste-Croix said.

He said the three of them then laughed.

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudb...n-unknowingly-helps-murder-suspects-1.5229940

Yeah to be perfectly honest if I were that guy, and some teen told me that right before I pulled him out of the mud, I probably would have laughed, too.

 

[scrappinkat]

The man who towed the van to the RCMP detachment was not in danger. He did not realize prior to arriving at the scene that the van was related to a murder, but that did not change anything

I’m pretty sure that tow truck driver the poster was referring to was of the SUV, not the van.

 

[Pyecraft]

It was a joke. Here's the full exchange:

"Mom and dad's going to be pissed," Ste-Croix told the two men as he drove up. He said he figured they were local teens out for a rip in their parents' Toyota RAV4, which was stuck and covered in mud.

"They looked at me and said, 'No, mom and dad told me to go for a long joy ride," Ste-Croix said.

He said the three of them then laughed.

source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudb...n-unknowingly-helps-murder-suspects-1.5229940

That's one long joy ride using BC plates.