OFF THE WIRE
trurodaily.com
Harry Sullivan
TRURO - The 1999 disappearance of outlaw biker and former Colchester County resident Randy Mersereau seemed like ancient history as the leaves changed colours last fall.
Then, on Oct. 14, the RCMP announced they were searching an Onslow Mountain residence for clues related to the case.
"Investigators are pursuing information that was brought to their attention," Sgt. Brigdit Leger told the Truro Daily News at the time.
"Because the investigation is ongoing we are not releasing the new information which came to light that led to today's search."
It was not long, however, before the case would break wide open; Mersereau's skeletal remains would be discovered and a number of local individuals would be hauled off in handcuffs to face numerous charges, including first-degree murder.
With each development in the case – including murder charges related to the 2000 disappearance of another local man Charles Maddison – and with each new charge brought before the courts, it soon became clear that this story was going to be the Truro Daily News' choice as newsmaker of the year, surpassing even the $11.2 million lottery win of the Large family from Lower Truro who gave away most of their money to family, friends and charities.
"Not every news story of the year gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling," Truro Daily News managing editor Carl Fleming said of the decision. "This is one of those years.
"For 10 years the disappearances of Randy Mersereau and Charles Maddison hung over Colchester County like a festering sore. What happened to these men? Would we ever know? Then, over a span of a few incredible weeks, the dominos started tumbling. It was the sort of stuff one might expect to read about in a big city newspaper or watch on TV. Yet here it was happening right under our noses and the investigation is still not over yet."
On Sept. 23, 1999, Mersereau, a former Hells Angel known to the drug trade, was inside Auto Scout Car Sales on Jennifer Drive in Bible Hill when a bomb blast knocked the building off its foundation and blew a hole in the wall. Seven people were injured in the late afternoon blast, though Mersereau - believed to have been the intended target of the explosion - escaped relatively unscathed.
Six weeks later, however, the then 48-year-old went missing and rumours of all extremes began to circulate - from the perspective that he had planned the entire episode and had gone into hiding, to the viewpoint that he had been killed by the Hells Angels for interfering in their drug territory.
Word from the street began to circulate as well that Mersereau's brother Barry Kirk Mersereau – who also had biker connections – had placed a $50,000 bounty on the head of Randy's killer.
Almost exactly a year after Randy Mersereau's disappearance, Kirk Mersereau and his common-law wife Nancy Christensen were found shot to death in their Hants County home, while their 18-month-old son remained in his crib.
Fast forward to last October when, after wrapping up an eight-day investigation at 74 Peppard Dr. in Onslow Mountain, police said they found undisclosed information that would aid in their continued investigation into Mersereau's disappearance.
By late November the investigation had moved to Hiram Lynds Road in North River where, after several days of searching in a heavily wooded area, Mersereau's skeletal remains were discovered.
On Dec. 2, just prior to announcing the discovery of Randy Mersereau's body, however, the RCMP named Jeffrey Lynds as his killer and announced they had arrested Gerald Leslie MacCabe of Salmon River on a charge of accessory after the fact in Mersereau's death for helping Lynds escape custody.
An odd point in naming Lynds as the killer was the fact that police had not laid charges against him. At last report, Lynds remains in custody in a Montreal jail on first-degree murder charges in a double homicide that occurred in Quebec, where he is believed to be suffering from terminal cancer.
Three days after MacCabe's arrest, on Dec. 5, police announce that they have discovered Mersereau's skeletal remains at the North River dig site and, then on Dec. 10, former East Mountain resident Les Greenwood, 41, was charged with accessory after the fact to Randy Mersereau's death and with his attempted murder in relation to the 1999 bombing of the Bible Hill auto dealership.
He was further charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 9, 2000 shooting deaths of Kirk Mersereau and Christensen.
It was later revealed by the CBC that Jeff Lynds had provided a statement to police identifying Greenwood and another unnamed man as having conducted those killings.
On Dec. 13, convicted drug trafficker Curtis Lynds, a nephew to Jeff Lynds, was also charged with being an accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's killing. He was further charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kirk Mersereau and Christensen.
The following day, Dean David Whynott, 44, of Truro Heights Rd., was charged as an accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's death. Whynott is a former owner of the home on Peppard Drive, where the October search was held.
On Dec. 16, CBC television reported on an alleged statement provided to police by Jeff Lynds in which he admitted to shooting Randy Mersereau five times in the basement of the Peppard Drive home. That report also namesd Curtis Lynds and Whynott as the individuals who disposed of Mersereau's body and alleged that Greenwood disposed of the vehicle.
"Lynds says he lured Mersereau to the home," the CBC reported. "He says he shot Mersereau five times with a hand gun provided by the Hells Angels who ordered the hit. He then claims Curtis Lynds and Dean Whynott took the body to (a) nearby field and buried it."
The CBC report also named Greenwood as having been responsible for shooting both Kirk Mersereau and Christensen in the stomach while in their home in Centre Burlington, Hants County. An unnamed individual is then said to have gone into the house to finish the couple off by shooting them both in the head.
Curtis Lynds was named in the report as being responsible for helping to set up the hit.
On Dec. 17, Windsor resident Michael John Lawrence, 36, was arrested in Springhill Penitentiary (where he was serving time for robbery and other offences) and charged with first-degree murder in the Kirk Mersereau and Christensen deaths.
"That's the unnamed individual," Leger said of Lawrence, in reference to the CBC report.
Lawrence was also charged with the first-degree murder of Charles Maddison of Portapipue, who was 55 when he disappeared on Sept. 8, 2000, while on his way to doctor's appointments in Halifax.
Maddison failed to show up for the appointments, however, and two days later his Dodge truck is discovered abandoned and burned.
"Mr. Maddison was an innocent victim," Leger said, after the charges were announced. "He was not involved in any criminal activity and tragically became the target of a senseless crime."
None of the individuals who have been charged in the above cases have been convicted of the allegations and all are to appear in court at later dates.
The investigation continues.
TIMELINE
Following is some of the history of Mersereau's disappearance:
1999
Sept. 23 - At 4:20 p.m., a bomb blasts through Auto Scout Car Sales Ltd., in Bible Hill, injuring seven people, including Mersereau.
Nov. 5 - Mersereau's car is found abandoned near Milford on Highway 102.
Dec. 13 - Mersereau is reported missing to Truro RCMP major crimes unit.
2000
Sept. 8 - Randy's brother Barry Kirk Mersereau and sister-in-law Nancy Christensen were shot to death in Hants County.
2010
Oct. 14 - RCMP search an Onslow Mountain property after receiving new information about the investigation.
Dec. 2 - RCMP major crimes unit begins to set up mobile command unit on Hiram Lynds Road in North River.
Dec. 3 - Gerald Leslie MacCabe, 43, of Salmon River is charged with accessory after the fact in Mersereau's murder, marking the first time police have referred to his disappearance as a homicide.
Dec. 3 - Court documents identify Jeffrey Albert Lynds as Mersereau's killer, though no evidence has been provided to suggest he has been charged with the crime.
Dec. 3 - Nova Scotia Medical Examiner called to investigation site.
Dec. 5 - Human skeleton remains discovered at dig site in North River
Dec. 10 - Les Greenwood, 41, of East Mountain is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Kirk Mersereau and Nancy Christensen, with accessory after the fact in Randy Mersereau's murder and with his attempted murder in the September 2000 bombing of a used car dealership in Bible Hill.
Dec. 10 - Curtis Blair Lynds is arrested at a halfway house in Truro on first-degree murder charges.
Dec. 13 - Curtis Lynds is arraigned in provincial court on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Kirk Mersereau and Nancy Christensen and as an accessory in the death of Randy Mersereau.
Dec. 14 - Dean David Whynott is charged with being an accessory after the fact in the death of Randy Mersereau by helping Jeff Lynds escape custody.
Dec. 16 - CBC television reports on an alleged statement provided to police by Jeff Lynds in which he admits to shooting Randy Mersereau five times in the basement of the Peppard Drive home. That report also names
Curtis Lynds and Whynott as the individuals who disposed of Mersereau's body and alleges that Greenwood disposed of the vehicle.
Dec. 17 - Windsor resident Michael John Lawrence, 36, is arrested in Springhill Penitentiary and charged with first-degree murder in the Kirk Mersereau and Christensen deaths. He is also charged with the first-degree murder of Charles Maddison of Portapique, who was 55 when he disappeared on Sept. 8, 2000, while on his way to doctor's appointments in Halifax.
