City has three murders in 2007

BY LAUREL MYERS

Three murders and the fateful discovery of a missing man grabbed the top headlines in 2007.

On Jan. 24, Keith Croteau, 59, and Bryan Belliveau, 55, roommates at Extendicare York and both reported to be developmentally challenged, broke into a dispute over the level of the volume on their shared television.

Croteau was hard of hearing and usually plugged headphones into the television to watch sports. However, his headphones were broken that day, so he turned up the volume, which apparently upset his roommate.

An argument broke out, resulting in Croteau being badly beaten and suffering serious head injuries.

Doctors told the family the cause of death was believed to be a brain aneurysm, but the victim’s sister was not convinced and believed the beating her brother received played a significant role in his death.

Croteau died overnight in hospital. The police investigation revealed Croteau died as a result of his injuries and Belliveau’s original charge of assault causing bodily harm was upgraded to second-degree murder. He remains in police custody awaiting his preliminary hearing, which is set for March 2008.

In June, an ongoing search for a man missing since last November came to a morbid end. The body of Jeffrey Mason, 37, of Chelmsford, was located by two anglers near the Stobie Dam in Onaping Falls.

Mason was reported missing from his Dowling home  Nov. 16, 2006.  His home was destroyed by fire and a vehicle he owned was also torched and found in Minnow Lake. Police said both incidents were arson-related.

A post-mortem of the body determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

On July 25, Greater Sudbury Police arrested Nicholas Aaron Martin, 19, and charged him with first-degree murder in connection with Mason’s death. He remains in police custody. According to police, Martin and Mason were acquainted through a friend.

In August a fight broke out at the Park Hotel on Notre Dame Ave., resulting in one man being fatally stabbed.

On Aug. 1, the Greater Sudbury Police Service responded to a 9-1-1 call regarding a man who had been stabbed.

Roger Giguere was taken to hospital with what was originally reported as non-life-threatening injuries.

However, his condition deteriorated through the night and he succumbed to his injuries early in the morning on Aug. 6.

A warrant was issued for Henry Stefanczuk, 55,  who was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

He remains in police custody awaiting his preliminary hearing, which is to be scheduled Jan. 9.

Giguere’s trip to the emergency room mirrored an incident from the previous September where the man was rushed to hospital after sustaining a stab wound to his throat that punctured his carotid artery.

Robert Dubreuil was charged with assault with a weapon. With Giguere’s death this year, the charges against Dubreuil were dropped as Giguere would have been the key witness in the trial.

Lindsay Lemieux, 25, a nurse at Laurentian hospital, was found dead in her home from multiple stab wounds on Nov. 10.

At approximately 4:30 am, police responded to a 9-1-1 call on Leo St. in Val Caron.

Police sought the public’s assistance in locating what they referred to as a “person of interest” and a vehicle taken from Lemieux’s residence.

A few hours later, a 14-year-old male, who can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was located around 3:30 pm outside of Massey, Ont., was charged with second-degree murder.

Weber said the investigation into the homicide revealed a relationship between Lemieux and the accused.

The youth remains in police custody at the Northern Youth Services, awaiting his bail hearing in the new year.

At his first court appearance, the Crown advised the court it will be seeking an adult sentence for the young man if he is found guilty.