Residents of Sackville and area are still reeling from the death of a Sackville man over the weekend.
Shawn Mitton was a 44-year-old father of four, and had recently opened a business on Main Street in Sackville. Forty-Six & 2 Creative Upholstery was incorporated last spring, and according to posts on social media, Mitton had recently moved into his new shop and expanded the business to a full time operation.
Since the news of his death, many are making efforts to raise funds in support of Mitton’s children. An account in Mitton’s name is set up at Wheaton’s Recycling to collect funds for the family, and collections jars and 50-50 draws at some upcoming Sackville Minor Hockey events are being organized. Mitton was a volunteer hockey coach and announcer.
Two arrested remain in custody
The New Brunswick RCMP Major Crime Unit is investigating Mitton’s death as a homicide, and have arrested and charged two Sackville men, Tyler Murphy and Dylan Murphy, with second degree murder.
The two Murphys appeared separately in Moncton provincial court on Tuesday morning, represented temporarily by laywers on duty, who asked the court for an adjournment until next week. Tyler Murphy waived the reading of the charge against him, but the judge read the charge of second degree murder to Dylan Murphy, who said he understood. Dylan Murphy’s duty counsel said he would apply to legal aid as soon as he returned to jail in Shediac.
The crown asked that both men remain in custody until they are due back in court next Wednesday, March 27 at 9:30am.
The two men are charged with second degree murder, which in general means a deliberate killing that occurs without planning or premeditation. The minimum sentence is life in prison with no parole for 10 years.
‘An isolated incident’
RCMP spokesperson Corporal Hans Ouellette says police were called to the scene on Saturday evening at about 7:45pm, and “responded to a report of a stabbing outside of a business on Lorne Street. When police did arrive, they did locate a man who seemed to be laying on the side of the road and suffering from apparent stab wounds. The man was then transported to hospital, where unfortunately, he later died as a result of those injuries.”
Oullette says he cannot comment on the reason or motivation behind the attack. “What I can say, though, is that police do know that this was an isolated incident and the general public was not in danger at the time,” says Ouellette.
This is the second violent death in Sackville in the past six months. In October, Marlene Arsenault Crossman was found dead in her King Street home, and her spouse Roger Crossman has been charged with first degree murder.
Ouellette says he understands that such violent incidents can be concerning for area residents. “We understand that this can be disturbing, and a lot of people may have questions,” says Ouellette. “We do as well. The investigation is ongoing.”
Ouellette says the RCMP’s Major Crime Unit, “work very diligently in these types of situations to help these investigations come to a conclusion, and find individuals who do these types of things, these horrendous crimes and bring them to justice.”
In the case of this weekend’s violence, Ouellette says, “as soon as we were notified of the stabbing, it didn’t take very long for the RCMP to track down these two individuals and place them in custody.”
Ouellette says police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the RCMP Major Crime Unit (1-888-506-RCMP) or contact Crimestoppers (1-800-222-TIPS) anonymously.
“If you are witness to this and you haven’t yet spoken to police, I think it’s important that you do call the RCMP,” says Ouellette. “You never know, your information may just help bring this bring this case to closure.”
ERRATUM: An earlier version of this story said that Shawn Mitton had two children, when in fact he has three.
