Man wanted for first-degree murder may be travelling in B.C. backcountry
Joseph Madore, 34, of Ottawa, is wanted for first-degree murder. Ontario Provincial Police say investigators have reason to believe he is in British Columbia and may be travelling through or camping in remote backcountry areas.
OPP photo
An Ottawa man wanted for first-degree murder may be travelling through or camping in remote areas of British Columbia, according to Ontario Provincial Police.
OPP said Sept. 3 that arrest warrants for Joseph Madore, 34, and Brayton Kennedy, 28, both of Ottawa, have been updated and each man is now wanted for first-degree murder in connection with the death of 34-year-old Christo Allison Richards.
Both men had previously been wanted on second-degree murder charges.
Investigators have reason to believe Madore is in British Columbia and may be travelling through or camping in remote backcountry areas. Police believe Kennedy may be in New Brunswick.
Anyone who sees either man is being told to call 911 and not approach.
The investigation began April 12 at about 3:15 p.m., when officers with the Lanark County OPP responded to Last Duel Park in Perth, Ont.
Police found Richards, who was from Ottawa, with life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a trauma centre and later pronounced dead.
As part of the investigation, OPP officers, with assistance from the RCMP, executed a search warrant at a rural property near Terrace in June and seized two firearms.
In the same June update, police said Lyna Du, 32, of Ottawa, had been arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to murder. A 46-year-old Perth resident had previously been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in May.
At that time, Madore and Kennedy were both wanted for second-degree murder, and investigators were already saying Madore might be camping in a rural area of British Columbia.
The Sept. 3 OPP release did not say what led to the warrants being updated to first-degree murder.
The Lanark County OPP is conducting the investigation under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. OPP Forensic Identification Services is also assisting.
Anyone with information about Madore or Kennedy’s whereabouts, or information related to the investigation, is asked to contact the Lanark County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The allegations against Madore and Kennedy have not been proven in court.
A B.C. Supreme Court judgment involving Canadians who studied medicine abroad was posted last week as the province continues to require international medical graduates in its Kootenay Boundary family medicine residency stream to complete two years of service within Interior Health.