Timeline of the Bandidos massacre

On April 8, 2006, a gruesome discovery shook the small southwestern Ontario village of Shedden, about 30 kilometres south of London.

A farmer and his wife were the first to notice three cars and a tow truck abandoned in an isolated field outside the village. After they report it, officers arrived to find the bodies of eight men stuffed inside the vehicles in what police would later dub one of Canada's worst mass killings.

Each victim is a Bandidos member or associate and had been shot in the head execution-style.

In the days that follow, police charge five people with first-degree murder. The following month, murder charges against two of them — a common-law couple — were withdrawn and replaced with counts of being accessories after the fact. Then in mid-June 2006, police made another break in the case with the arrest of three men in Winnipeg, including a former police officer.

In late March 2009, the murder trial began for the six accused.

Here's a timeline on how the case has progressed.

Oct. 29, 2009

Wayne Kellestine, 60, Michael Sandham, 40, and Dwight Mushey, 41, are found guilty of eight counts each of first-degree murder. A first-degree murder conviction means an automatic life sentence with no parole for 25 years.

Frank Mather, 36, and Marcelo Aravena, 33, are found guilty of one count each of manslaughter and seven counts each of first-degree murder.

A sixth man, Brett Gardiner, 25, was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter and six counts of first-degree murder.

The six were convicted by a jury in Superior Court in London, Ont., in what is believed to be Ontario's largest mass slaying.

• CBC story: Guilty verdicts at Bandidos murder trial

Oct. 28, 2009

The case goes to the jury. All six accused pleaded not guilty to eight counts each of first-degree murder.

• CBC story: Bandidos case goes to jury

Oct. 19, 2009

After six months of testimony from more than 70 witnesses, closing submissions begin.

The jury hears from lawyers for five of the accused. They portray Wayne Kellestine as a mad man who turned what was supposed to be a night of stripping the Ontario victims of their Bandidos affiliation into mass murder.

Kellestine's lawyer tells the jury the only reason his southwestern Ontario farm played host to the biker gang massacre was because of the murderous intentions of a co-accused, Michael Sandham.

• CBC story: Bandidos trial hears defence's closing arguments

Sept. 10, 2009

The trial hears for the first time from Sandham. He and several others of the accused are linked to the Bandidos' Winnipeg chapter.

Sandham's testimony corroborates many details in the testimony of police informant M.H., the Crown's star witness. But there are many glaring differences, notably that M.H. testified he saw Sandham shoot one of the victims.

Sandham, a former police officer, also told the court that he joined the gang because he wanted to become a police informant.

• CBC story: Winnipeg man charged in Bandidos massacre testifies

July 22, 2009

The trial hears secret tape recordings of a police informant, M.H., and one of the accused discussing the behaviour of some of the victims just before they were slain.

• CBC story: Bandidos murder trial hears secret recordings

July 16, 2009

In the third day of testimony, a former Bandido turned informant tells a London, Ont., courtroom that the shooting ambush of the eight biker gang members and associates "sounded like popcorn."

M.H. said one of the accused, Wayne Kellestine, told others: "If we kill one, we kill them all." He also described the bloody scene he encountered when entering Kellestine's barn.

• CBC story:  Bandidos ambush gunfire 'sounded like popcorn': witness

July 15, 2009

M.H.  testifies in court that the head of the gang's Winnipeg faction had said it was time to "screw Toronto" and work with U.S. gang officials instead.

Michael Sandham, one of the accused, met with gang officials from the U.S. and returned home with news that the Toronto chapter would "be no more," M.H. says While the Toronto chapter would be stripped of its association, the Winnipeg chapter hoped to rise from probationary to full status.

Another accused and an ally of the Ontario faction, Wayne Kellestine, was expected to strip the Toronto members of their club patches, the police informant tells the court.

M.H. says he, Sandham and several others were told by the U.S. gang officials to visit Kellestine's Ontario farm to find out why it was taking so long to pull the patches.

The Winnipeg club and Kellestine decided to hold a club meeting for Toronto members at Kellestine's place and spent the hours before the meeting loading a cache of weapons to "be prepared for the worst" in Kellestine's words, M.H. says.

• CBC story: Bandidos boss planned to 'screw' Toronto chapter: murder trial witness

July 14, 2009

In his first day of testimony, M.H. tells the London, Ont., court of tensions and power struggles between the Winnipeg and Toronto chapters.

A construction worker and father of three, M.H. says he became involved in the Bandidos in the summer of 2005, attracted by the brotherhood and a chance to ride with friends.

But he says he quickly came to notice the tensions between the Winnipeg faction and its Toronto sponsor, which wasn't allowing the Manitoba faction to become a full-fledged chapter.

• CBC story: Biker-gang rivalry preceded 8 murders: witness

March 31, 2009

• CBC story: Bandidos murder trial starts in London, Ont.

The murder trial for the six accused begins in London. Ontario Superior Court Justice Thomas Heeney, who will preside over the trial, tells the court it was a "monumental task" to find the six men and six women who make up the jury. The trial is expected to last six months.

Dec. 7, 2007

• CBC story: Man pleads guilty to obstruction of justice in Bandidos massacre  

Court documents reveal that Eric Niessen, one of the two people charged with being accessories after the fact, has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and been sentenced to two years in prison.

An agreed statement of fact states Niessen didn't witness the deaths and doesn't know who killed the men. He and his common-law wife Kerry Morris visited one of the accused, Wayne Kellestine, on April 8, 2006.

In the statement Niessen admits to lying to police and helping Kellestine with a false alibi. He also said he was aware people in the house were destroying physical evidence that he knew might be linked to the killings.

June 21, 2007

• CBC story: Accused in Bandidos massacre to head to trial 

The preliminary hearing for the eight people accused in the case ends. Six men charged with first-degree murder and two others charged with being accessories after the fact, Niessen and Morris, will stand trial.

Jan. 9, 2007

• CBC story: Bandidos massacre suspect behaves badly in court 

The preliminary hearing begins for eight people charged in the Bandidos massacre.

One defendant, Wayne Kellestine, gives reporters the finger, sticks out his tongue and mouths a profanity at a courtroom artist.

June 16, 2006

• CBC story: 3 Winnipeg men charged in Bandidos massacre 

Police in Winnipeg arrest three men in connection with the killings, bringing the total charged in the case to eight. CBC News learns one suspect, Michael Sandham, is a former police officer who held positions of authority in several Manitoba communities.

May 6, 2006

• CBC story: Police drop murder charges against two in biker deaths

Police drop first-degree murder charges against two of five people charged in the deaths. Kerry Morris and Eric Niessen, both of Monkton, Ont., are instead charged with eight counts of accessory after the fact. Morris was the only woman charged.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

• CBC story: Massacre accused make brief court appearance

Four of the five people charged in the biker gang slayings made brief court appearances in St. Thomas by video link. The three men and one woman are charged with first-degree murder.

Monday, April 10, 2006

• CBC story: Five charged in biker gang killings

3 p.m.

Ontario Provincial Police Det. Supt. Ross Bingley confirms that all eight of the men found dead on Saturday were associated with the Bandidos biker gang. All eight suffered gunshot wounds.

Bingley also announces that five people from Ontario have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder:

• Wayne Kellestine, of Dutton-Dunwich Township, full-patch Bandidos member.
• Eric Niessen, of Monkton.
• Kerry Morris, of Monkton.
• Frank Mather, of Dutton-Dunwich Township.
• Brett Gardiner, of no fixed address.

Morning

The eight bodies are sent to Toronto to undergo autopsies.

Sunday, April 9, 2006

• CBC story: Police raid house near location of 8 bodies

Evening

The Hells Angels issue a statement on their website denying any involvement in the murders.

Police lead four people, their hands in the air, out of the home of Wayne Kellestine, a neighbour says. Kellestine is the former leader of two biker gangs, the St. Thomas Annihilators and the now-defunct St. Thomas Loners.

Afternoon

Ontario Provincial Police investigators raid a farmhouse about 22 kilometres west of where the bodies were found. The house belongs to Wayne Kellestine. Police won't comment on the reasons for their raid on the house, and won't confirm whether Kellestine's home was the focus of their activity.

10 a.m.

OPP Det. Supt. Ross Bingley tells reporters the victims have not been identified, but confirms that they all knew each other and were from the Greater Toronto Area. Police refuse to discuss any possible link to organized crime. Several motorcycle clubs have been known to be in the area, including the Loners, Bandidos and Hells Angels.

"The Hells are present in Ontario; everybody knows that. 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," says Bingley.

Early morning

Overnight, the four vehicles, with the bodies still inside, are removed from the scene and taken by covered transport truck to London. From there, they would be taken to OPP headquarters in Orillia, north of Toronto.

Saturday, April 8, 2006

• CBC story: 8 bodies found in Ontario farm field

Evening

Aerial photos of the crime scene show the body of a heavy-set man dressed in grey in the trunk of one of the cars. The photo would later appear on the front pages of many Sunday newspapers in Canada and on some news websites, including CBC.ca.

4:20 p.m.

At a news conference, police say all the dead are adult males, but offer few other details. "We're not in a position to reveal how they were murdered," says OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor. "I won't confirm at this point what the persons were killed by."

Early afternoon

The first news reports of the discovery say "numerous casualties" were found inside vehicles. Later updates said eight bodies were found inside the vehicles.

8:30 a.m.

Russ Steele and his wife find three cars and a tow truck abandoned near their farm. They try to look inside one of the vehicles but can't see anything because of a blanket covering the window. They write down the licence-plate numbers and rush home to call police.