Posted on 04/09/2006 2:28:11 PM PDT by Clive
The Ontario Provincial Police made what appears to be a major raid on a home in southwest Ontario near Shedden, Ont. Sunday afternoon, close to where the bodies of eight slain men were found Saturday.
Jean Francois Fracheboud, a journalist with Quebec network TQS, was on the scene as a large number of officers raided a home located north of Highway 401 between Iona Road and Aberdeen Line, near the village of Shedden.
Police would not release any details, and would not confirm whether the raid was linked to the ongoing murder investigation. Fracheboud said it seemed likely the events were connected, however.
"They will not confirm, but I asked them at the same time if it is very often they get this amount of police action around the area, and they said of course not, so this is very good reason to believe there is a link," Fracheboud told CTV Newsnet.
Neighbours told CTV's Denelle Balfour that the house might be connected to biker activity, however police are saying "very, very little about this at the moment."
"They're saying this is an active investigation and for reasons of operational security they're not giving us anything else," Balfour told CTV Newsnet. "They're not even telling us if it's connected to the original finding of the four vehicles and the eight bodies."
Police have set up a "containment zone" around the house, measuring about 6.5 kilometres by three kilometers, and have also created a no-fly zone.
Victims were known to each other
Earlier Sunday, a detective with the OPP held a press conference and said the eight men found dead in the farmer's field were known to each other and are from the Greater Toronto Area.
Speaking at a press conference, Det.-Supt. Ross Bingley said all the bodies have been taken to the coroner's office in Toronto and post-mortems on the men will be conducted on Monday.
Bingley said police would not comment on the causes of death until the autopsies have been completed, nor would they comment on the identities of the victims or their ages.
Ontario's worst mass killing
The grisly discovery, the worst mass killing in Ontario history, was made by a property owner near the village of Shedden, about 20 kilometres west of St. Thomas, at around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The resident, who is not considered a suspect, noticed three vehicles and a tow truck parked in a wooded area away from the roadway. He called police upon seeing the victims.
Bingley would not comment on rumours that the men were killed as part of a motorcycle gang turf war. The Canadian Press reported Saturday that Elgin County has some motorcycle clubs operating in the area, including the Hells Angels, the Bandidos and the Loners.
He did reiterate, however, that there is no immediate danger to people living in the rural Elgin County region.
Investigators believe the killings took place sometime within a 24 to 48-hour period from the time the victims were found.
The men were found in four vehicles: a grey Pontiac Grand Prix, a silver Infinity SUV, a green Silverado tow truck and a Volkswagen Golf.
Police escorted members of the media beyond barricades for a closer look at the area where the cars were found, but there was little left to see. The bodies and vehicles were removed overnight.
The vehicles were taken to Orillia, Ont. for forensic testing and the bodies were taken to Toronto.
Police will keep the crime scene off-limits for at least several days while investigators comb the area for clues.
"Clothing, identification, any evidence that may help us ascertain who they are," OPP Cst. Doug Graham said.
"We wouldn't want the farm owner to encounter (evidence), or anyone from the public," Graham said.
"We want to gather any other evidence and want to make sure there are not other victims we haven't yet."
With files from The Canadian Press
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Here ya go.....
Slain Hells Angels leader laid to rest in Bridgeport
April 8, 2006
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. --Bikers from all over the country gathered Saturday for the funeral of a Hells Angels leader gunned down on Interstate 95 in West Haven.
Roger Mariani, 61, of Stratford was killed and motorcyclist Paul Carrol, 37, of Bridgeport was injured last Sunday when someone opened fire as they rode with a group of motorcyclists.snip
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/04/08/slain_hells_angels_leader_laid_to_rest_in_bridgeport/
I could be wrong but this has the hallmarks of a drug deal gone wrong. Bikie gangs, including the ones mentioned, are also a concern on this side of the world.
I agree.
Some kind of bad underworld deal.
That's incredible. I have cousins that live in Shedden.
Ha ha. Very funny. The scary part is...that's probably true about the impact on the populace. Another funny part is that statscanada (the official statistics site for Canada) is registering a massive spike in their violence stats as a result of these murders.
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