Canada - Lucas Fowler, Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, all murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019 #15

[Strangeworld]

An Australian man and his American girlfriend have died in suspicious circumstances in Canada, sparking fears they may have been murdered.

Lucas Fowler is reported to be the son of senior NSW police officer, Inspector Stephen Fowler. He was found dead alongside his girlfriend, North Carolina woman Chynna Deese, in British Columbia earlier this week sparking fears of foul play.

Chynna’s sister Kennedy Deese wrote they pair were “homicide victims along a remote stretch of highway in Canada while on a road trip.”

An older style blue mini-van the pair was believed to have been travelling was found at the scene.

Canadian police are looking for anyone who saw the vehicle or offered assistance. They’re also appealing for anyone that travelled the stretch of highway around the time of the discovery to come forward, according to a RCMP media release.

Australian man found dead in Canada


Media, Maps & Timeline thread

Initial thread on suspects McLeod and Schmegelsky (now closed)

The Rules (aka Terms of Service aka TOS)


Thread #1
Thread #2
Thread #3
Thread #4
Thread #5
Thread #6
Thread #7
Thread #8
Thread #9
Thread #10
Thread #11
Thread #12
Thread #13
Thread #14

 

[MassGuy]

The Manitoba Medical Examiner has completed the autopsies and confirmed that the two deceased men located in Manitoba on August 7, 2019 were Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky. Their next of kin have been notified and they have been offered support.

The RCMP can also confirm that the two died in what appears to be suicides by gunfire. While both individuals were deceased for a number of days before they were found, the exact time and date of their deaths are not known. However, there are strong indications that they had been alive for a few days since last seen in July and during the extensive search efforts in the Gillam area.

Police can also confirm that two firearms were also located with the two deceased males and forensic analysis is underway in order to definitively confirm that these weapons are connected with the northern BC homicide investigations. The Manitoba RCMP have completed their search of the area were the two male bodies were discovered, approximately 8 km from where Mr. Dyck’s burnt RAV4 was located on July 22, 2019.

Investigators are now assessing all items located in Manitoba, along with the previous findings related to the three northern BC homicide investigations, in order to gain more clarity into what happened to Leonard Dyck, Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese. The assessment will review all the investigative findings to date, whether it is statements, evidentiary time lines, physical or digital evidence, and the BC RCMP have also have engaged our Behavioural Analysis Unit (BAU).

The BC RCMP commits that once we have completed that review within the next few weeks, we will be providing the families with an update with respect to the totality of the investigations and then releasing the information publicly.

RCMP in British Columbia - Update – RCMP confirm cause of death and provide update on the Northern BC triple homicide investigations

 

[SnooperDuper]

Interesting article from the Georgia Straight: there is a BC law that prevents murderers from profiting from their stories, or assigning a relative as an agent to sell their story, that was put on the books after Willie Pickton wrote and tried to sell his story in a book. Because BS is dead and did not assign rights to AS, AS may be in the clear...legally, but morally? Should the law be fine-tuned?

...

I have a question about an Australian broadcaster's interview last weekend with the father of a suspected triple murderer.

Did 60 Minutes Australia pay money or any other form of consideration to Alan Schmegelsky, the father of Bryer, for speaking exclusively on its TV program?

It's a serious question because in 2016, the British Columbia legislature voted in favour of the Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act.

Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act

And the Australian show's interviews with Schmegelsky occurred on B.C. soil.

...

B.C.'s Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act is designed to prevent people charged with serious crimes—or their agents, including relatives—from cashing in by selling their stories or memorabilia.

...

There are fines of up to $50,000 for those who buy or sell information or memorabilia in violation of the law in British Columbia.

Read the whole thing here:

Australia's history of chequebook journalism raises question about televised interview with father of Bryer Schmegelsky

 

[otto]

MOO But a sleeping bag seen by a guide was the tip off at York Factory. Where did they get the stuff? I might have missed when that happened.

A sleeping bag was found at the mouth of the Hudson Bay in Port Nelson. The bodies were 111 km away. York Landing was a place of panic about two bears at the dump. The suspects were not 90 km from the vehicle for a day during the manhunt.

 

[NJSleuth91]

The other side of the coin is they are now out of high school, time to grow up, time to move on and make changes. Did they just graduate this June 2019 or last year? I'm foggy on the grad stuff.

Kam's parents maybe thought he'd outgrow Bryer and if that wasn't happening maybe they said one last roadtrip then you need to think about your future and might be time to cut ties with the bestie. I'm curious like you about the dynamic at Kam's house with Bryer and the family in general.

It's unclear when or if they graduated. Kam may have graduated in 2018 because there's a picture of him in a graduation robe from a newspaper or something that was published in 2018. Bryer supposedly graduated in June 2019 but there have been conflicting accounts on whether he actually graduated or not, and he's not listed in the school records for the graduation.

I don't know though...a road trip sounds like it would have made them even more bonded (and, unfortunately, it did!) and less likely for Kam to be willing to cut ties. I can't imagine Kam's parents letting the two of them go off into the wild with their fairly expensive truck and camper and a bunch of cash, if they thought Bryer was a bad influence. That's just a recipe for trouble (and, unfortunately, it was!) Especially if they knew about his weird militia stuff and all that.

 

[LoisLane]

The estimated timing of the missing guns is off by 6 days but it could be something:

ETA: the dates for the break-in are estimated so maybe it is possible this happened earlier then stated below:

On July 22nd, 2019 Port Alberni RCMP received a report that 2 shotguns were stolen from a residence in the 4800 block of David St between July 18th and 21st. The investigation indicates that a break and enter occurred and is being activbely examined. Port Alberni detachment is requesting any information regarding this incident or the location of the shotguns.

More Info: Port Alberni File # File #2019-7788

Crimes of the Week | Alberni Valley Crime Stoppers

 

[Zella]

We don't know what Kam's folks were told, either, but if they got the going north for work story, too, and they were concerned about Bryer's influence on Kam, they wouldn't have agreed to it. Because that's a road trip with no end date and almost guarantees they're more dependent on each other and isolated from familial influence.

The more we've chatted about it, I think the McLeods must have been neutral to positive on Bryer. If they had concerns, I don't think those concerns were major.

MOO

 

[mtnstream]

MOO But a sleeping bag seen by a guide was the tip off at York Factory. Where did they get the stuff? I might have missed when that happened.

Perhaps they already had camping gear, since they supposedly spent a good amount of time camping (per MSM interviews with BS father, their friends, acquaintances). They could have purchased items before their trip as well. There was probably gear in the van, and LD's RAV - maybe they stole some things from the victims?

 

[Lalalacasbah]

The graduation thing is murky. Kam was in last year's newspaper as a grad. There is conflicting information on whether or not Bryer actually graduated, but if he did, it was this year. I am really wondering what Kam did for the year if he wasn't in school. He apparently wasn't working if Wal-Mart was in fact his first job.

Thanks I saw the discussion about the grad stuff but it seemed confusing lol.

So Kam still wasting away a year later possibly. Maybe his parents put their foot down and only recently started to worry after their son ONLY wants to get a job at the same place and same shifts as his bestie. Maybe it was uh-oh, what are we going to do about Kam?

 

[JudgeJudi]

I also note that there's no sign of a license plate on any of the pictures I';ve seen of the burned vehicles. License plates tend to be attached (rear, anyway) with steel screws or bolts, so I would not expect them to come off from a vehicle fire. This made me wonder if the suspects might have thought they could destroy any certain links between themselves it via removing the plates and burning the vehicles, due to being under the mistaken impression that the license plate is the only way to trace a vehicle. They did, after all, burn both before being declared suspects.

Maybe they used their crowbar to remove the plates before burning the vehicles.

 

[MistyWaters]

The estimated timing of the missing guns is off by 6 days but it could be something:

On July 22nd, 2019 Port Alberni RCMP received a report that 2 shotguns were stolen from a residence in the 4800 block of David St between July 18th and 21st. The investigation indicates that a break and enter occurred and is being activbely examined. Port Alberni detachment is requesting any information regarding this incident or the location of the shotguns.

More Info: Port Alberni File # File #2019-7788

Crimes of the Week | Alberni Valley Crime Stoppers

Except the pair left Port Alberni on July 12th and were sighted in Meadow Lake, Sask at the Co-Op via CCTV on July 21st. Their truck was found burning on July 19th and before that they were sighted around Dease Lake and in Jade City. So I don’t think that robbery fits into the timeline. But indeed it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities if the guns were stolen from somewhere.

 

[Zella]

Thanks I saw the discussion about the grad stuff but it seemed confusing lol.

So Kam still wasting away a year later possibly. Maybe his parents put their foot down and only recently started to worry after their son ONLY wants to get a job at the same place and same shifts as his bestie. Maybe it was uh-oh, what are we going to do about Kam?

I could definitely see any parent being irritated with him if he had finished school, didn't get a job for months, then got one, and only lasted a few weeks before quitting and then announcing he was going to go look somewhere else. I'd feel the same way if I were Bryer's parental figure and he pulled the whole, "I worked for 5 weeks, but I am out of here!" routine.

Even if they weren't concerned about the friendship with Bryer, I could easily see Kam's parents sending him off with a "You need a job, and you better keep this next one for longer than 5 weeks."

 

[scrappinkat]

The estimated timing of the missing guns is off by 6 days but it could be something:

On July 22nd, 2019 Port Alberni RCMP received a report that 2 shotguns were stolen from a residence in the 4800 block of David St between July 18th and 21st. The investigation indicates that a break and enter occurred and is being activbely examined. Port Alberni detachment is requesting any information regarding this incident or the location of the shotguns.

More Info: Port Alberni File # File #2019-7788

Crimes of the Week | Alberni Valley Crime Stoppers

Kam and Bryer had already left the island by then.

 

[scrappinkat]

also note that there's no sign of a license plate on any of the pictures I';ve seen of the burned vehicles. License plates tend to be attached (

The Dodge had them. Can’t remember pictures for the RAV 4 though.

 

[Seattle1]

The other side of the coin is they are now out of high school, time to grow up, time to move on and make changes. Did they just graduate this June 2019 or last year? I'm foggy on the grad stuff.

Kam's parents maybe thought he'd outgrow Bryer and if that wasn't happening maybe they said one last roadtrip then you need to think about your future and might be time to cut ties with the bestie. I'm curious like you about the dynamic at Kam's house with Bryer and the family in general.

If I recall correctly, KM was class of 2018, and BS class of 2019. For as little as we know about KM, his dad/family issued this statement when he was missing:

“My family and I do know that Kam is a kind, considerate and caring young man who has always been concerned about other people’s feelings. As we are trapped in our homes due to media people, we try to wrap her head around what is happening. We hope that Kam will come home to us safely so we can all get to the bottom of this story."

I think that KM's parent's likely tolerated BS. I also think both families had to be encouraged when the teens landed employment at Walmart -- perhaps for the first time.

Kam allegedly made a joke with man that pulled their stuck vehicle to the road-- telling him his parents said to go for a long joy ride.

I don't think either of these guys had any desire to "launch" in the traditional sense, and this was their way out. And I hate that they included innocent, content, people in their plan.

MOO

 

[MistyWaters]

Maybe they used their crowbar to remove the plates before burning the vehicles.

I wonder, did they not realize all vehicles are embedded with serial numbers? I’m stuck on the theory the reason the vehicles were burned was because they thought they’d become untraceable.

 

[otto]

RCMP used surveillance and helicopters to zero in on the mangled boat (13 km from car) and personal belongings 4km (2.2 miles) upstream from the boat. They used 4500 man hours to search 11,000 square kilometres.

no scavenger birds, no sleeping bags
mangled boat, personal belongings
bodies with guns

 

[mtnstream]

Interesting article from the Georgia Straight: there is a BC law that prevents murderers from profiting from their stories, or assigning a relative as an agent to sell their story, that was put on the books after Willie Pickton wrote and tried to sell his story in a book. Because BS is dead and did not assign rights to AS, AS may be in the clear...legally, but morally? Should the law be fine-tuned?

...

I have a question about an Australian broadcaster's interview last weekend with the father of a suspected triple murderer.

Did 60 Minutes Australia pay money or any other form of consideration to Alan Schmegelsky, the father of Bryer, for speaking exclusively on its TV program?

It's a serious question because in 2016, the British Columbia legislature voted in favour of the Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act.

Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act

And the Australian show's interviews with Schmegelsky occurred on B.C. soil.

...

B.C.'s Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act is designed to prevent people charged with serious crimes—or their agents, including relatives—from cashing in by selling their stories or memorabilia.

...

There are fines of up to $50,000 for those who buy or sell information or memorabilia in violation of the law in British Columbia.

Read the whole thing here:

Australia's history of chequebook journalism raises question about televised interview with father of Bryer Schmegelsky

Hmm, maybe that's why A.S. decided to not publish his book - maybe he was advised that publishing it would put him in jeopardy of future legal troubles.

 

[NJSleuth91]

I wonder, did they not realize all vehicles are embedded with serial numbers? I’m stuck on the theory the reason the vehicles were burned was because they thought they’d become untraceable.

Most likely. I'm stuck on the theory that they were both dumb as a box of rocks <modsnip: nothing to substantiate that speculation>

EDIT: Also if they really thought this, this would constitute a Critical Research Failure. Or perhaps there was no research conducted at all beforehand.

 

[otto]

@LoisLane

Also in your scenario where they took off due to Kam's issues with his parents, that would give a motive for a robbery, since they couldn't ask his parents for money anymore.

There are no known issues with Kam and / or his parents. Wild speculation abounds.
Kam's family has remained respectful of the difficult situations facing families.