3 charged with first-degree murder in connection with remains found in burned Bay Roberts truck
'This was absolutely a targeted attack,' RCMP say at St. John's news conference
RCMP in eastern Newfoundland have arrested and charged three people in connection with a homicide in Bay Roberts, in which a body was found in a pickup truck that had been set on fire.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jolene Garland said that Matthew Kavanagh, 41, Terry Cole, 34, and Stephanie Noftall, 28, have been each charged with first-degree murder as well as indignity to human remains.
"This was absolutely a targeted attack," Garland told reporters at a news conference in St. John's Monday.
Kavanagh and Noftall appeared before Judge Pamela Goulding in provincial court in Harbour Grace on Monday afternoon. Cole appeared by telephone from the RCMP detachment in Holyrood.
The three will stay in custody. Their case will next be called Oct. 21 at Harbour Grace.
The victim, whom police are not identifying, was a 42-year-old man from Spaniard's Bay.
The human remains were found last week inside a pickup on a dirt road in Bay Roberts, along Newfoundland's Conception Bay.
The pickup, a blue 2021 Chevrolet Colorado, was discovered in flames the morning of Sept. 30 on Country Road.
Police converged on Harbour Grace home
Last week the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner deemed the death as suspicious.
On Saturday evening, the RCMP's major crimes unit — as well as an emergency response team, a dog unit, explosives experts and other officers — surrounded a home on Gardner Place in Harbour Grace.
"After a number of hours," a police statement said, "three individuals were arrested …without further incident."
Garland said the three surrendered to police and that no weapons were seized from the home.
Garland said while the homicide is seen as a targeted attack, but police are not commenting on any possible motive.
"We certainly feel there could be an element of drugs. We're not saying these people are involved in the drug trade but we do suspect substance abuse to be present with the individuals involved," she said.
Police do not believe organized crime is involved in the man's death.
Cause of death not yet disclosed
The cause of death remains under investigation. Garland said police believe the man was dead before the truck was set on fire.
"All four are known to police," said Garland, adding some had criminal backgrounds and others with charges or a warrant before them.
RCMP say it stems from a dispute that began in a parking lot by a Tim Hortons restaurant and a Needs convenience store, L.T. Stick Drive in Bay Roberts.
"We definitely believe that there were people present on the parking lot of the Needs/Tim Hortons on L.T. Stick Drive when a physical altercation is believed to have occurred between the deceased and the three individuals," Garland said.
She also said witnesses are believed to have seen what happened. They are being asked to contact police.
The police are looking for a four-door 2012 brownish-grey Honda Civic as part of their ongoing investigation.
Police believe these are the only three people involved in the crime at this time, she said.
Noftall, meanwhile, was the subject of a series of missing persons notices from the RCMP last week. Police said at the time she was last seen on Sept. 30 in the Trinity-Conception area
In a statement from earlier this month, the police said it was "concerned for her safety and well-being."
On Monday morning, shortly before Garland spoke with reporters, the RCMP announced over X, the social media platform, that Noftall had been located and was "safe."
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With files from Terry Roberts
