Police make arrest in connection with Mason murder

BY KENT CORNESS

Greater Sudbury Police have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the murder of  Jeffrey Malcolm Mason.

Mason, 37, was reported missing last November and his body was recovered from Stobie Dam in Chelmsford June 7 following an extensive search. There are also two arsons related to Mason's disappearance.

Police arrested Nicholas Aaron Martin, 18, Wednesday and charged him with  first-degree murder.
Martin is currently at Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, awaiting trial  in connection to an unrelated attempted murder.

On the morning of Nov. 16, 2006, Mason's residence, in Dowling, was set on fire following a break-in. Later that same morning, at approximately 7 am, Mason's car was set on fire in a laneway near Lonsdale Ave. in Minnow Lake. A missing person investigation followed the two arsons.

“On Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006, our lives were turned upside down by these terrible acts of violence. Jeff was missing, and we could not find him,” said brother John Mason at the man's funeral.

Two weeks after Mason went missing, on Nov. 26, Martin was arrested for an unrelated attempted murder in Sudbury for which he is awaiting a preliminary hearing, scheduled for September 2007.

The attempted murder took place on Nov. 24 at a house party located at 916 O’Neil St. W. in Garson. Martin allegedly slashed the victim in the neck. The victim was transported to St. Joseph's Health Centre where he underwent emergency surgery.

Last month, on June 7, Mason's body was recovered from Stobie Dam by two anglers. A post postmortem was conducted and the cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma.

At a news conference Thursday, police were unable to comment on the weapon used, if any, as it could conflict with future court proceedings, they said.

Through the course of the investigation, police recovered forensic evidence and received a number of tips that led them to Martin.

Forensic evidence, not destroyed in either fire, played a huge role in the investigation, as did approximately 50 tips from the public, said Staff Sgt. Sheilah Weber of the criminal investigations unit.
Police said they believe Martin was driving Mason's car on Nov. 16, following Mason's estimated time of death, and are still searching for the woman in the red car who, police believe, spoke to Martin at a Mac's convenience store located at the intersection of Hwy. 144 and Errington St. in Chelmsford.

“The family is relieved that they will finally have some closure,” said Supt.Al Lekun of the Greater Sudbury Police Service. “It's good to finally have a successful outcome to this case, considering the amount of effort that was poured into it by investigators.”