SIX NATIONS — Two men and one woman from Six Nations have been arrested in the deaths of 37-year-old Melissa Miller, 33-year-old Alan Porter, and 32-year-old Micheal Jamieson.
OPP along with Six Nations Police announced the arrests of Nicholas Shipman, Thomas Bomberry and Jamie Beaver at a press conference at Six Nations on Friday. All three are facing second degree murder charges.
Officers began their probe on Nov. 4 after the victims bodies were found along with an abandoned pickup truck in a privately owned field outside Oneida Nation of the Thames.
Police said Miller was seven-months pregnant at the time of her death. Officers said they have identified the cause of death, but they declined to share details on that or any other aspect of the investigation.
The announcement of the charges on Thursday came hours after the last of the three people accused in the case, Jamie Beaver, was taken into custody.
She faces one count of second-degree murder, while Nicholas Shipman faces three counts of the same charge and Thomas Bomberry faces two. Police did not explain the breakdown of charges and said the decision to lay second-degree murder charges is now part of the evidence that will soon go before court.
The development came after months of public pleas for information on the deaths of a group of close friends from the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation — a case one officer said has caused deep wounds within the community.
“It saddens me to know that people who call this area home have been charged with ending the lives of three fellow community members in such a tragic way,” said Darren Montour, the acting deputy chief of the Six Nations Police Service, which assisted the provincial force with the investigation.
They also declined to comment on the timeline surrounding the deaths, a component of the case complicated by the fact that Shipman has been in police custody on an unrelated matter since Nov. 3.
Investigators would not comment on the relationships among the accused or between them and the homicide victims. Nor would they expand on the connection between the suspects and Kirsten Bomberry, a 36-year-old Six Nations woman arrested three weeks after the bodies were found and charged with three counts of accessory after the fact to murder.
The surviving family members for all three victims released a joint statement through the Six Nations Justice Department expressing thanks to police and community members who contributed information that lead to the arrest of the accused.
“At this time, the families are asking not to be contacted by the media for any follow up or interviews. The emotional burden of this experience on the families is incredibly difficult and they are presently focused on grieving and enduring with life responsibilities,” said the statement from the Six Nations Justice Department. (with CP files)
