Statement from Chief Gary Forward
Fredericton Police Force is committed to building trust and accountability through timely communication and transparency. In keeping with this commitment, we must inform the public of a situation that has resulted in a stay of proceedings in a major criminal matter investigated by our department. The investigation and situation in question involved the death of Corey Christopher Markey in 2021.
The reason for the stay of proceedings is the result of an “insurmountable evidentiary issue” linked directly to an error initiated, discovered and subsequently reported to the Crown by the Fredericton Police Force. Our error has further detrimentally impacted on a similar major crime investigation by a partner agency.
We cannot begin to gauge or comprehend the profound effect this will have on the victims’ families and those closest to the investigations. It is, however, our obligation to take full responsibility for the issue and apologize for what has led to these stays of proceedings.
A very difficult element of this situation, and admittedly contradictory to our commitment to transparency, is that we are unable to disclose further details about the “insurmountable evidentiary issue” itself.
Finally, the Fredericton Police Force has commenced outreach to ensure an independent investigative review is conducted at the earliest opportunity so we may better understand how and why this occurred, and to ensure it does not happen again. Our priority moving forward is to ensure that any review is conducted with integrity and in the best interest of justice and public confidence. An update as to who will conduct the review, and when it will begin, is forthcoming.
Chief Gary Forward
Fredericton Police Force
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Media contact:
Public Information Office
Fredericton Police Force
Fpf.media@fredericton.ca