Marissa Shephard found fit to stand trial on murder, arson charges

Marissa Shephard has been found fit to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with the December death of 18-year-old Baylee Wylie in Moncton.

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• ​Marissa Shephard appears in court on 1st-degree murder, arson charges

Shephard, 20, made a court appearance in Moncton on Friday, at which time the results of her 30-day psychiatric assessment were provided to the court.

The court ordered the psychiatric assessment at the Restigouche Hospital Centre in Campbellton on March 18 to determine if Shephard should be tried on the charges.

A psychiatric assessment is typically used by the courts to assess whether an accused is mentally fit to stand trial, and whether they could be found criminally responsible for any crimes they are charged with.

Outside the court, Shephard's friend, Taylor Lutes, 19, said the decision that Shephard is fit to stand trial is "complete bullshit."

"She's not fit. She wasn't fit before the murder happened and she's certainly not fit now.

"With the drugs that she had, with the problems that she had and stuff like that, she was never really stable enough to, you know, stand fit trial for anything, let alone murder and arson.

"We both had a drug abuse problem. I'm currently getting over mine and she's doing the best she can with hers, as well.

"She's currently sober," said Lutes. "She's doing very good inside."

Shephard has not entered a plea on the charges.

Shephard's lawyer, Gilles Lemieux, requested time from the court to review evidence disclosed by the Crown before deciding whether to proceed to a preliminary inquiry.

Shephard will next return to court on June 3.

"She's anxious and nervous, obviously," Lemieux told reporters outside the courtroom.

"She's very concerned about what's going on, what the allegations are against her."

Lemieux said it is hard to imagine there won't be a preliminary inquiry.

A preliminary hearing is used by the courts to determine if there is enough evidence against the accused to warrant sending the case to a full trial.

An accused may waive their right to a preliminary hearing.

Living with victim

Wylie's mother Amanda Wylie said outside the courtroom she was nervous but "very happy" Shephard had been deemed fit to stand trial.

"Being fit is what the whole family was hoping for," she said.

After an earlier court appearance, Wylie  said her son had been living with Shephard in the weeks before his death in December.

Wylie's body was found in a burned unit of a Moncton triplex on Dec. 17. RCMP said he had died violently.

Shephard spent 10 weeks eluding police after Wylie's body was discovered. She was arrested in Moncton on March 1.

Shephard is one of three people facing a charge of first-degree murder in connection with Wylie's death.

Tyler Noel and Devin Morningstar are also charged with first-degree murder and arson.

Morningstar is set to stand trial on Oct. 18, with the court setting aside eight weeks for the trial.

Noel's case will see a four-day preliminary hearing begin on May 16 which will determine if there is enough evidence for the charges against him to proceed to trial.