CANADA - Lucas Fowler, Australian & g/f Chynna Deese, American, murdered, Alaska Hwy, BC, Jul 2019

[zecats]

Alandra Hull has seen the bearded man and his car, so things should start moving forward.

The say the Mounties always get their man, and I believe they will.

I hope so. And I hope there are a few others the Mounties will get as well. (Ben, Luke, Ryan, Dean). At least 2 of these involve criminality, as stated by RCMP.

 

[cody22]

I was wondering the relevance of the police markers at the rear of the vehicle, and whether this was in relation to either Lucas or Chynna being located deceased at that location. It seems as if perhaps, upon feeling intimidated by this individual, they may have retreated into their van to hide. The smashed rear window... Was this from a bullet, or being struck with a rock or some other object?

Perhaps this individual / POI was in some kind of mental state and punched the rear window with their bare hand, in which case they would now have DNA. The open side door suggests perhaps a hasty escape attempt of Lucas and Chynna, upon which time they were killed.

It sounds increasingly like the actions of a mentally disturbed / drug affected individual, possibly triggered by the van being partially in the northbound lane.

All IMO.

I think those possibly are markers for shell casings left from shooting inside the rear window of the van.......I wonder if the killer then pulled the bodies out of the van to rob them of ID papers, cash, etc......moo

 

[JudgeJudi]

I never considered it being a robbery. Gray Hughes said you can pick up an old van like that for a couple of hundred dollars. With Lucas having such long hair, he would have looked like a hippie. The fact that they were having a "picnic" at the side of the road doesn't exactly give an image of a young couple having much worth stealing.

 

[zecats]

I think those possibly are markers for shell casings left from shooting inside the rear window of the van.......I wonder if the killer then pulled the bodies out of the van to rob them of ID papers, cash, etc......moo

Or maybe he walked away and they thought he was gone. He came back later and busted in the window. They were asleep and not wearing shoes, and they tried to run out the door. JMO

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Did he not care that there were witnesses? If several people can id him and his vehicle, was he not aware of other vehicles passing by? Or was he in such a rage for some reason (road rage?) that he blocked it out? I'm just surprised that someone would kill two people on a road where others were passing by. Normally murderers don't want to be seen.

I reckon I should not be surprised by anything people do. I do hope it leads to an arrest.

If he was in a rage, he likely didn’t think of the consequences. There would not have been much planning if that’s how it went down.

 

[TheSecondLaw]

I think those possibly are markers for shell casings left from shooting inside the rear window of the van.......I wonder if the killer then pulled the bodies out of the van to rob them of ID papers, cash, etc......moo

This sounds like a likely scenario - Lucas and Chynna being shot from outside the rear van window whilst hiding inside their van, and then either escaping the van injured, succumbing to their injuries, or possibly they were shot dead inside of the van and dragged outside for some purpose.

I was imagining the scenario of them being shot as they were trying to run away, but even with the moonlight this would have been difficult unless it was a skilled shooter e.g. hunter or ex-service.

 

[SteveP]

This sounds like a likely scenario - Lucas and Chynna being shot from outside the rear van window whilst hiding inside their van, and then either escaping the van injured, succumbing to their injuries, or possibly they were shot dead inside of the van and dragged outside for some purpose.

I was imagining the scenario of them being shot as they were trying to run away, but even with the moonlight this would have been difficult unless it was a skilled shooter e.g. hunter or ex-service.

The EMT/road worker who found them stated they were lying in a ditch, in identical positions. This says to me that they were either shot while they were inside the van, most likely, and dragged over to the ditch, or else they were forced into the ditch, and shot execution style. I think the former is more likely than the latter. JMO

 

[TheSecondLaw]

If he was in a rage, he likely didn’t think of the consequences. There would not have been much planning if that’s how it went down.

I've personally had encounters with individuals confronting me in public, threatening harm right to my face over mundane things such as coughing near them entering behind them at a service (gas) station. On another occasion, it was triggered upon happening to make brief eye contact with someone when passing around the corner of a supermarket aisle. On each occasion I stood my ground and just calmly, matter- of-factly said words to the effect of everything being all good and there's no problem here. I think this but more likely being in a public area surrounded by others was what avoided escalation, despite these individuals seeming very aggressive and mentally unbalanced.

Sadly there are lots of unhinged people out there. Encountering such individuals in an isolated location with them being in possession of a weapon makes the situation many times more likely to escalate no matter how much the victims may try to remain calm and diffuse the situation.

 

[otto]

I was wondering the relevance of the police markers at the rear of the vehicle, and whether this was in relation to either Lucas or Chynna being located deceased at that location. It seems as if perhaps, upon feeling intimidated by this individual, they may have retreated into their van to hide. The smashed rear window... Was this from a bullet, or being struck with a rock or some other object?

Perhaps this individual / POI was in some kind of mental state and punched the rear window with their bare hand, in which case they would now have DNA. The open side door and Lucas with no shoes / Chynna wearing one shoe suggests perhaps a hasty escape attempt, upon which moment they were killed.

It sounds increasingly like the actions of a mentally disturbed / drug affected individual, possibly triggered by the van being partially in the northbound lane. 'The way the bodies were positioned' is of note. Does this imply that the POI may have deliberately posed the bodies in some manner after taking their lives?

All IMO.

The vehicle was half parked on the 2 lane highway. Red line marks edge of highway, green line marks edge of shoulder. It looks like there is room on the shoulder to be parked entirely off the highway.

For the safety of other traffic, the vehicle should be off the road. Orange markers behind the vehicle to alert oncoming traffic of a hazard are also missing. Vehicles traveling 70MPH would have to slam on the brakes if there was oncoming traffic when they passed the van.

If the window was smashed or shot, maybe the couple was sleeping and the suspect thought the vehicle was unoccupied.

 

[TheSecondLaw]

The vehicle was half parked on the 2 lane highway. Red line marks edge of highway, green line marks edge of shoulder. It looks like there is room on the shoulder to be parked entirely off the highway.

For the safety of other traffic, the vehicle should be off the road. Orange markers behind the vehicle to alert oncoming traffic of a hazard are also missing. Vehicles traveling 70MPH would have to slam on the brakes if there was oncoming traffic when they passed the van.

If the window was smashed or shot, maybe the couple was sleeping and the suspect thought the vehicle was unoccupied.

View attachment 194312

This definitely adds weight to the likeliness that Lucas and Chyna failed in successfully getting the van running again. Perhaps when they first broke down, the engine had already stalled and the van ran out of momentum before they were able to park up all the way into the shoulder. Perhaps they were initially parked further in the shoulder and had been trying to push start the van more or less on the smoother lane asphalt where there would be perceptibly less ground friction. Or it could just be a misjudgement of taking for granted that they were on the shoulder 'enough', underestimating their hazardous positioning, amount of traffic in the area and visibility.

 

[cody22]

Now we wait for a manhunt and possible capture, a possible spree killer(the other death outside a vehicle), a suicide( the other death outside a vehicle), or two completely unrelated death scenes ?.... This case is very tragic and getting real interesting.........moo

 

[zecats]

If this bearded man was seen, standing with his hands out (as stated above by witness in link), did anyone see a gun? If he was showing a gun, I'd think Lucas and Chynna would be looking more frightened than annoyed, and perhaps signaling for help to anyone passing by. If he didn't have it when he was seen confronting them, he would have had to walk back to his vehicle, retrieve it and come back to kill them. How long would rage last, in this case? JMO

 

[otto]

This definitely adds weight to the likeliness that Lucas and Chynna failed in successfully getting the van running again. Perhaps when they first broke down, the engine had already stalled and the van ran out of momentum before they were able to park up all the way into the shoulder. Perhaps they were initially parked further in the shoulder and had been trying to push start the van more or less on the smoother lane asphalt where there would be perceptibly less ground friction. Or it could just be a misjudgement of taking for granted that they were on the shoulder 'enough', underestimating their hazardous positioning, amount of traffic in the area and visibility.

I agree that the van probably would not start, so they decided to camp on the highway. I think it was a misjudgement - where they assumed that everyone could just go around them. Canada is like any other country when it comes to parking partially on a highway - it's a serious safety issue, especially in moonlight. They should have pushed the van farther off the road with the help of people who stopped to ask if they were okay.

If this was a robbery, where someone assumed that the vehicle was abandoned, then it was just wrong place, wrong time. They were vulnerable, and an opportunist came along.

They left the ranch on Saturday, and the murders happened 4.5 hours from the ranch on Sunday evening or night. I wonder if they had other engine problems that delayed their travels.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

Sounds like the sighting was by the broken down van, not on highway 37 as previously claimed. That makes more sense.

 

[otto]

If this bearded man was seen, standing with his hands out (as stated above by witness in link), did anyone see a gun? If he was showing a gun, I'd think Lucas and Chynna would be looking more frightened than annoyed, and perhaps signaling for help to anyone passing by. If he didn't have it when he was seen confronting them, he would have had to walk back to his vehicle, retrieve it and come back to kill them. How long would rage last, in this case? JMO

If it was road rage, it would depend on how Lucas and Chynna responded to him. The goal should be to de-escalate the situation, but sometimes emotions get in the way and conflict escalates.

 

[JudgeJudi]

The EMT/road worker who found them stated they were lying in a ditch, in identical positions. This says to me that they were either shot while they were inside the van, most likely, and dragged over to the ditch, or else they were forced into the ditch, and shot execution style. I think the former is more likely than the latter. JMO

If he dragged them out, he's bound to have DNA issues because I can't imagine he wore gloves. The way he held his arms outstretched with palms up suggests to me that he was perhaps trying to explain something, e.g. "What did you do that for, you moron?" People tend to raise their arms when they're angry, not put them down, but I'm not a body language expert.

 

[otto]

Sounds like the sighting was by the broken down van, not on highway 37 as previously claimed. That makes more sense.

They were 4.5 hours from the ranch and heading North on Hwy 97 when they were shot.

 

[cody22]

Is there any news on the identity, or COD details, on the other dead man and burnt vehicle( it was burnt wasn't it) ?...moo

 

[JudgeJudi]

If this bearded man was seen, standing with his hands out (as stated above by witness in link), did anyone see a gun? If he was showing a gun, I'd think Lucas and Chynna would be looking more frightened than annoyed, and perhaps signaling for help to anyone passing by. If he didn't have it when he was seen confronting them, he would have had to walk back to his vehicle, retrieve it and come back to kill them. How long would rage last, in this case? JMO

Alandra Hull appears to be the only witness to the argument, and she didn't mention seeing a weapon. I'm considering he may have returned later, after the argument, when there were few people on the road, but not necessarily when it got dark.

 

[otto]

Is there any news on the identity, or COD details, on the other dead man and burnt vehicle( it was burnt wasn't it) ?

The truck was burning when RCMP arrived and a deceased man was found at a nearby pull off area. Police have said there is no evidence to connect the two incidents at this time. There's no info about the victim or cause of death.