New Brunswick

Stephen Nagle admits to assisting fugitive Marissa Shephard

Stephen Nagle, 22, of Moncton, has pleaded guilty to assisting fugitive Marissa Shephard, who is charged with first-degree murder and arson in connection with the death of Baylee Wylie in December.

Nagle, 22, changes plea to guilty of being accessory after the fact to murder of Moncton teen Baylee Wylie

A Moncton man has admitted to trying to help Marissa Shephard evade police, while knowing she was wanted in connection with the murder of Baylee Wylie in December.

Stephen Nagle and Krystal Toole were both charged with assisting fugitive Marissa Shephard. Nagle changed his plea to guilty on Monday. (Facebook)
Stephen Nathan Nagle, 22, changed his plea on Monday to guilty of being an accessory after the fact to the first-degree murder of Wylie.

The body of Wylie, 18, was found in a burned unit of a Moncton triplex on Dec. 17. RCMP have described his death as an extremely violent murder.

Shephard, 20, had been sought on a Canada-wide warrant for first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death.

She eluded police for 10 weeks before being arrested near a Moncton hotel on March 1 with Nagle and Krystal Toole.

Nagle, who is the father of Shephard's four-year-old son, was scheduled to have a pre-trial conference at the Court of Queen's Bench on Monday. But he ended up changing his plea.

He was sentenced to nine months in jail, less the time he has already served in custody since his arrest.

He was also given one year of probation, ordered to have no contact with Shephard or his co-accused Toole, and is prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms.​

Marissa Shephard, 20, has been deemed fit to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with the death of Moncton teen Baylee Wylie. (Facebook)
Toole, who is also charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, is scheduled to return to court on April 29 for a preliminary inquiry. Preliminary inquiries are held to determine if there's enough evidence to proceed to a trial.

Shephard has been deemed fit to stand trial following a 30-day psychiatric assessment and is scheduled to return to court on June 3.

​She is one of three people facing charges of first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death.

Tyler Noel, 18, is scheduled to face a four-day preliminary inquiry, starting on May 16.

Devin Morningstar, 18, is set to stand trial on Oct. 18. Eight weeks have been set aside.

With files from Tori Weldon