Two Men Arrested and Charged for the Homicide of Mark Seymour

Published on: 2015/12/14 - in Featured Releases

Following an intensive and complex investigation spanning over two months detectives with the Kingston Police Major Crime Unit have arrested and charged two men in relation to the September 28th murder of 36-year-old Mark Seymour.

Coordinated by the Major Crime Unit, Shawn BROWN, 26 years of age, and Derrick BLACKETT, 30 years of age were arrested on Friday, December 11th by members of the Kingston Police Emergency Response Unit (ERU) in Kingston.

Blackett, originally from the Greater Toronto Area, has lived in Kingston for a number of years and Brown is recently moved from western Canada. The two men were transported to police headquarters where they later attended a weekend bail hearing and were remanded into custody, with a future court date of December 16 at 1:00 p.m. by video remand.

Both men are charged with First Degree Murder, Forcible Confinement, Weapons Dangerous, Break and Enter, and Wearing a Disguise. They are additionally charged with Robbery and a second count of Forcible Confinement in relation to a second victim, a 50-year-old local male, who was present at the time.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. on Monday, September 28th both police and paramedics were called to the area of Division Street and York Street where Mr. Seymour was found outside with no vital signs. He was transported to hospital and later pronounced deceased. Information was received that two male suspects were seen fleeing the area west on York Street.

Detective Sergeant Brian Pete, who oversees the Major Crime Unit, states, “While there are hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of information and evidence that ultimately form this investigation and implicate the two accused, there are three major components that were crucial in leading to their arrest. While we cannot go into detail, so as not to compromise the pending court process, we will briefly highlight these points.

First, two black balaclavas were found in the vicinity of the crime scene and seized as evidence by our forensic identification staff. It was determined these items are exclusively found in the Dollarama store chain. One of detectives worked exhaustively with the company’s local management and even executive members to isolate the purchase of what we feel are the two specific balaclavas in question. We wish to acknowledge the level of cooperation and thank Dollarama for the assistance received.

Second, we released information to the public in relation to our interest in cell phone activity that initiated near the homicide scene, continued northbound along Montreal Street and eventually ended up in the area of Weller Avenue. These areas were of significant interest to police and we believe the two accused have personal connections to certain points along this route taken.

Lastly, and what ultimately led us to our grounds to arrest the accused, Kingston Police received results from the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) of DNA testing on the balaclavas that we believe strongly links the two men to the homicide.

Homicide investigations are tremendously complex, and while a quick resolution is always preferable, more important is the building of a strong case that will stand scrutiny in court and ultimately lead to the conviction of those responsible for the murder of Mr. Seymour. We want to thank Mark’s family for having patience with us and understanding the level of dedication, professionalism and strong investigative work that resulted in holding these two men accountable. We hope this brings some small level of comfort to them in their time of loss.

We will now be concentrating on the disclosure of all this evidence and consultation with the Crown Attorney’s Office to bring this to a successful conclusion within the courts. Finally, we wish to thank all of our members within Kingston Police, both sworn and civilian, whose assistance was invaluable. This was truly a team effort.”

While arrests have been made detectives are still interested in gathering as much evidence as possible to assist with the investigation. Anyone with information is please asked to contact Detective Adam McMullen at 613-549-4660 ext. 6281 or via email at amcmullen@kpf.ca.

Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or on the website at www.tipsubmit.com. Tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000. Tips can also be left through the Kingston Police MyPD app that can be downloaded at www.kpf.ca, by private message to the Kingston Police Facebook Page, or via a Direct Message to the official Twitter account.


Release and photos source: Kingston Police

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