STORM2K

Oh my Gosh! Everyone is shocked today, it's on all the news stations here, I also saw it a few times on CNN. 8 bodies were found this morning in rural Elgin County on the shore of Lake Erie. This is the worst homocide ever in Ontario.

Murder suspected as 8 bodies found in Ontario farmer's field
Last Updated Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:16:24 EDT
CBC News

The bodies of eight men have been discovered in a farmer's field southwest of St. Thomas, Ont., police say.

Provincial police say a property owner found the bodies at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday inside three vehicles and a Toronto-based tow truck.

The bodies were in a wooded area well off the road, near the village of Shedden, about 20 kilometres southwest of St. Thomas.

There may still be more victims, said OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor. Police airplanes and helicopters were flying over the area.

"We are treating it as a homicide," Const. Doug Graham told CBC Newsworld. "Certainly we expect foul play and that is why the investigation is moving slowly."

Police said the bodies were adult males, probably killed in the previous 24 to 48 hours. They would not identify the victims or cause of death.


Police vehicles block off an area under investigation near Shedden, Ont. on Saturday. (Steve Martin/Canadian Press)



SOURCE: http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 60408.html

Police cars block the roadway near the mass murder scene in Shedden, Ont. on Apr. 8, 2006.

Multiple murder discovered in a rural Ont. field
Updated Sat. Apr. 8 2006 6:08 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Eight men were found dead in a remote part of a farmer's field Saturday morning, prompting Ontario Provincial Police to launch a major homicide investigation.

The grisly discovery was made by a property owner near the village of Shedden, about 20 kilometres west of St. Thomas, at around 8:30 a.m.

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.

Investigators with the OPP are treating the deaths as suspicious. They have cordoned off the area and set up a command centre.

During a news conference Saturday afternoon, OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor said it is too early to speculate on motives for the killings.

"At this point we're at the very early stages of this investigation and we're not in a position to speculate on what the motive may be," Rektor said.

Police are not revealing how the eight men died, but they say there is no immediate danger to people living in the rural Elgin County region.

"At this point we have no concerns for the safety of the citizens in this area. It appears to be an isolated incident."

But the murders will undoubtedly send shockwaves through the normally peaceful community.

"It's going to have a huge effect on the population here. It's rural Ontario, we're not accustomed to these kinds of incidents unfolding in our backyards," Rektor said.

"Elgin County is a great county, it's known for being very peaceful and a laid-back type of area, so this is definitely not common in this area."

Those feelings were echoed by Southwold Township's deputy mayor.

"I don't know what to think of it, it's terrible. This is a pretty quiet area," Stan Lidster told The Toronto Star.

Investigators believe the killings took place sometime within a 24 to 48 hour period from the time the victims were found.

The scene remained cordoned off Saturday evening as OPP investigators arrived. The victim's bodies and the four vehicles remained in place as well.

Rektor said the OPP was bringing "an assortment of experts" to the scene to "try to piece it back together."

But investigators are also looking for outside help.

"We are appealing to the public for help, to call Crime Stoppers … if they heard or saw anything suspicious on this roadway yesterday or last night."

SOURCE: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s ... TopStories

Oh my...that is horrible!!

That is horrible and seems really strange.

How tragic and extremely disturbing!

Oh, it's very disturbing. The news team was asking local residents, and this poor old lady didn't know it happened yet, and she just started crying... she was really upset.

They went to Sheddens grocery store, and asked a women, and she immediately plugged her little boys ears... that tells you what kind of setting this area is like. It's just so sad. They were all from Toronto, so people are assuming gang/drugs.

UPDATE: WARNING THERE IS A VERY GRAPHIC PHOTO OF ONE OF THE BODIES. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT IS ON THE WEBSITE. LOOK AT YOUR OWN RISK.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 60408.html

Victims in multiple slaying came from Toronto area
Last Updated Sun, 09 Apr 2006 11:27:55 EDT
CBC News

The eight men whose bodies were found in and around four vehicles in a farm field in southwestern Ontario were from the Greater Toronto Area, police said on Sunday.

The victims all knew each other, an Ontario Provincial Police spokesman said a day after the grisly discovery near the village of Shedden, about 30 kilometres south of London and about 200 kilometres west of Toronto.

It was the biggest mass murder in recent Ontario history.

"Obviously, we're not used to having eight people at one homicide scene," Det. Supt. Ross Bingley said at a news conference.

"In 27 years of policing, I don't recall that number of people at any one location, so obviously it's fairly significant."

But Bingley stressed that police wouldn't comment on the cause of death until they got more information from the coroner's office in Toronto. Autopsies were scheduled for Monday.

No names will be released until the victims' families are notified, Bingley said.

Police refuse to comment on possible link to gangs

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) also refused to discuss any possible links between the killings and organized crime, although surrounding Elgin County has a history of biker gang activity.

Several motorcycle clubs have been known to populate the area, including the Loners, the Bandidos and the Hells Angels.

"The Hells are present in Ontario; everybody knows that," Bingley said. "But as far as me discussing the Hells or anybody else, we're working on this murder case and we're not talking about the Hells."

A couple found the bodies on their property at about 8 a.m. EDT Saturday, just off a dirt road near Shedden.

The bodies were removed overnight and taken to Toronto.


Police seek witnesses who saw vehicles

Bingley identified the vehicles as:

A grey Pontiac Grand Prix.
A silver Infiniti sport utility vehicle.
A green Chevrolet Silverado tow truck.
A silver Volkswagon Golf.

He urged anyone who may have spotted the vehicles in the area to call police.

The slayings have shocked people in Shedden, where residents told reporters they couldn't remember the last time there had been a serious crime.


Police were called to a rural area near Shedden, Ont., where eight men were found dead in and around four vehicles. (Steve Martin/Canadian Press)

Police checking house near location of 8 bodies
Last Updated Sun, 09 Apr 2006 17:42:06 EDT
CBC News

Police are investigating a farmhouse about eight kilometres from the field in southwestern Ontario where the bodies of eight men were found on Saturday morning.

Police cruisers were parked outside the house in the municipal area of Dutton/Dunwhich on Sunday afternoon, while other cruisers set up blocks on roads near the house.

Ontario Provincial Police have established a perimeter of about three by five kilometres, CBC Radio's Jean Carter said from scene.


Police, who have been tight-lipped about the investigation, won't say what they are doing.

Police raid house near location of 8 bodies
Last Updated Sun, 09 Apr 2006 20:44:19 EDT
CBC News

Police have raided a farmhouse owned by a former motorcycle gang leader as they continued their investigation into Ontario's biggest massacre.

Neighbours told CBC News the house is owned by a former leader of the St. Thomas Annihilators and the now-defunct St. Thomas Loners motorcycle gangs.

Police would not comment on the reasons for their raid on the house, which is only a few kilometres from the farmer's field in southwestern Ontario where the bodies of eight men were found early Saturday morning.

About a dozen police cruisers were parked outside the biker's residence, while other cruisers blocked roads in the area.

OMG

Mass killings mean Angels win biker turf war: expert
Last Updated Tue, 11 Apr 2006 10:40:37 EDT
CBC News

The mass killings of bikers in southwestern Ontario on the weekend show that the biker wars have been won by the Hells Angels, says an expert in motorcycle gang activity.

Eight men were killed south of London, Ont., and found dumped in a farmer's field near Shedden on Saturday. They were all members of, or associated with, the Bandidos biker gang.

On Monday, police said they had charged five people with first-degree murder, among them Wayne Kellestine, who police say is a full member of the biker gang.

"It's not unusual for the bikers not only to take on their rivals, but to eat their own," said Julian Sher, a journalist who has written extensively on bikers and their crimes.

Police were clear in a news conference on Monday that they don't believe the killings involved any other criminal organization.

Police said the men had all been shot, and Det. Insp. Paul Beesley said they may have been killed in several locations.

"The victims of this crime have been positively identified and are associated [with], or belong to, the Bandidos motorcycle gang," Det. Supt. Ross Bingley told a news conference in London.

"This is an isolated incident with ties to the Bandidos."

The Bandidos have been in a turf war with the Hells Angels for several years, and after several killings and a large number of defections, the Bandidos had apparently dwindled to about a dozen members in Ontario.

"What happened in Ontario is that Hells Angels moved in, surrounded the Bandidos, convinced several members of the Bandidos to join the Hells Angels, otherwise they'd face punishment," said Sher. "There were many attempted assassination attempts and drive-by shootings."

With the weekend's killings and Monday's arrests, the Bandidos have gone from a spent force in the province, to an extinct species.

"What these shootings show is that it's not the end of the biker war, it's that Hells Angels have won the biker war," Sher said.

Kellestine's house is located only a few kilometres from where the bodies were found. Police raided the house on Sunday, and arrested all the suspects there.

No other motorcycle gangs are being investigated, police said.

Six of the people found dead are believed to be full members of the gang. They are:

George Jesso, 52, of Etobicoke.
George Kiriakis, 28, of Toronto.
Luis Manny Raposo, 41, of Toronto.
Francesco Salerajno, 43, of Toronto.
John Muscedere, 48, of Chatham.
Paul Sinopoli, 30, of Sutton.
The two other victims are Jamie Flanz, 37, of Keswick, whom police said was a "prospect member" of the Bandidos, and Michael Trotta, 31, of Mississauga, described as an "associate member."

Those charged are:

Kellestine, 56, of Dutton.
Eric Niessen, 45, of Monkton.
Kerry Morris, 56, of Monkton (the lone woman charged).
Frank Mather, 32, of Dutton.
Brett Gardiner, 21, of no known address.