The Vicious Killing Of Marcel Reardon

thank you we're in St John's in Newfoundland and Labrador Canada for today's case back in 2016 when it was home to 46 year old Marcel Reardon Marcel was from a huge family with two sons himself three brothers and an older sister to whom he was particularly close and nieces who he doted on his sister Jacqueline said her brother was the class clown always wanting to make everyone laugh just by being goofy he was never afraid to make himself look silly in order to cheer people up Marcel lived alone downtown after moving about quite a bit he hadn't felt very settled anywhere for a while but had recently found a new little apartment which seemed to be working out for him a big reason he was always looking for somewhere new and never quite felt at home was because in September 2015 tragedy hit the Reardon family they lost their mother Evelyn to cancer and Jacqueline said that for Marcel who was the closest to her the loss had really taken a toll on him Jacqueline said that he had hit the bottle hard leaning on it to numb his pain over the months since her deaths Marcel's drinking had increased to a dangerous point and he was spiraling into a terrible place losing more and more control he knew it was happening and was trying to pull it back but was finding it tough now in the midst of an addiction in early May 2016 several 9-1-1 calls were made about Marcel saying he was intoxicated and acting aggressively although when the officer got there they deemed there wasn't enough to make an arrest and Marcel seemed to be okay one of his friends had also run into him at a downtown soup kitchen she was ahead of him in the queue and he ran up to her asking to cut in front Karen can I jump ahead of you I haven't slept and I haven't eaten in three days he said his family knew he was struggling but not to this extent [Music] on the evening of May 7 2016 Marcel visited his sister Jacqueline and brother Scott for dinner the mood was somber as the aim of the Meetup was to put flowers together as a tribute for their mother something Marcel was Finding tough but the day went as smoothly as it could and as Marcel said goodbye they arranged to see each other a few days later for a family Barbecue he told them he was feeling more positive as he had signed up to a welding course so he could get himself back into work and into a good routine this was great and encouraging news for his family he hugged Jacqueline and headed off shouting love you Jackie as he went don't forget to call me later she shouted back just a few hours later Marcel was sadly back on the police's radar again he was arrested for breaching an order not to consume alcohol and officers had picked him up in a Subway begging people for food he was held in the lock-up for his own safety and when they were happy he had sobered up they released him at about 1pm the following day he left the building in his red sweater a jacket and his cargo bottoms he pulled a newspaper out of his jacket and walked off into town [Music] May 9 2016. authorities responded to a call from the Harbor View Apartments a 91 Brazil Street the building superintendent Jack had called 9-1-1 when a resident had alerted him to something near the stairs to the rear of the building someone was lying on the ground almost tucked under the steps and the resident thought maybe they were sleeping rough and had taken shelter there overnight but as they got closer they saw a pool of blood and what looked like brain matter and Bone nearby the man was wearing a red sweater and cargo bottoms and inside one of the pockets was a wallet the wallet contained a folded up birth certificate this confirmed that they had found the body of Marcel Reardon he had been beaten to death there were marks in the mud near his body which showed he had been dragged there so where he had actually been killed along with the Y wasn't clear on May the 9th 2016 and approximately 9 35 a.m RNC officers with Patrol services division the criminal investigation Division and the forensic identification Services responded to the report of a sudden death in the area of Brazil Street in St John's based on the results of the autopsy performed by the office of the chief medical examiner the RNC is confirming that the cause of death has been ruled as a homicide the victim of the homicide has been identified as Marcel Reardon at this time there have no been no arrests made and the investigation is ongoing guarantee major crime unit would like to thank the media members of the public for their assistance so far in this ongoing homicide investigation we encourage to ask people to come forward with any information to contact the RNC 729-8000 to contact Crime Stoppers if they choose a 1-800-222-8477 and they can also provide information anonymously to Crime Stoppers at nlprimestoppers.com how did Marcel Reardon die the circumstances surrounding the man's death Mr Urban's death is part of the investigation and we're not going to be releasing that information at this time was there a weapon used again with regards to a weapon it's still part of the ongoing investigation that information is of evidentiary value so we will not be released I can't say if you've recovered anything in the way of a weapon we can't say it this time do you believe he was killed um at Harborview apartments or on that grounds or is there possible that that was just a dump site and there's another crime scene again the circumstances with regards to the scene would be of evidence revalue and we can't comment this time see no arrests have been made but are there any suspects are you looking for anyone we do not have any suspects at this time and where we're continually Contin we're continuing to actively investigate the matter and we answered if anybody has any information on this death to contact the RNC at 729-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-22 from searching his name and working out the last known place he was living the apartment he was found by had no links to him at all more frustratingly still the camera that was directly above where everything had happened wasn't working near to Marcel's body however they backed up some cigarettes and a lighter as well as an empty beer bottle the chief medical examiner in Newfoundland and Labrador since 1996 said that Marcel's injuries were some of the most damaging he had seen in all his years so bad in fact that his family were not allowed to see him the wounds were largely to the back of his head and was so severe it was impossible to determine how many times he had actually been hit but it appeared that a hammer had been used his blood alcohol level was about four times the legal limit authorities said they had seen a lot in their jobs before but this case was particularly gory disturbing and draining for them a lot of stories about him moving around from place to place in St John's having some problems with alcohol problems with drugs how did all of that happen thank you I don't know how it all happened but I know like I just said in my my writing here that he don't he lived he lived a life that we all weren't accustomed to that not everybody was accustomed to so when it comes to his alcohol I don't know how much he was into us in the past but coming down here after my mom passed is when he from my understanding is when he got more into the alcohol he lived with us for six months we never had any issues with them at all if he did have a six-pack he'd drink it he'd be quiet we wouldn't have no issues and I mean it was me and Scott lived there my children lived there we never ever had any issues with them so in the last year how much contact would you have with him how often did you see him I used to see him but once a month and he'd call 20 20 times a day for what just to have a conversation ask me how I'm doing or what I'm doing and the same here just normal conversation same here he would call it all the time and he just wanted to talk had you heard of the the murder in St John's or our body being found in Saint John's before the police approached you I have read on Facebook that I've seen I had seen an article that had stated that the body of a young man was found so you'll never occurred to you that it was Marcel yeah I kind of went to like a body shake and couldn't breathe and it's like okay seriously who did it like my first ask was who did it who did it that's was it who did it I walked out in the kitchen and see to her and see offices or I was in shock and I think I still am like I'm still in denial I'm still waiting for that phone call from yeah yeah me too when the phone rings at a certain time in the night time and comes up private number I I I think that even though no Marcel's gone it's like Marcel's caught up in my opinion well it's making it a little harder for them is that they didn't get to see him not even for a minute they weren't allowed because there was too much damage done to them an officer who had been patrolling the Shamrock City area the previous night said that he had given Marcel another warning for being drunk and disorderly outside a bar this was at 8pm just over 12 hours before he was found dead the bar in question remembered him and could also Point Police to the people he was drinking with Kevin O'Brien and Jessica Peach they were actually even still outside the bar loitering around the pair said they were drinking with Marcel along with a woman called Ann Norris but they had left him at around 1am and hadn't seen him after this they were asked to come in and answer some questions at the station and they said they were happy to both Kevin and Jessica had the same story on the day of May the 8th they had been walking around the streets asking people for spare change Marcel soon tagged along with them at around 5pm he briefly left the group to go and get some belongings telling them he would meet them later as he left and Norris joined Kevin and Jessica Jessica knew and fairly well but Kevin did not he described her as friendly and attractive and they got on well Kevin and Anne went to Anne's apartment just before 8 PM before heading back downtown where Marcel joined them at this point Marcel was far more intoxicated than they were being loud and causing them to feel uncomfortable Marcel had been drinking rum vodka beer and had also taken some unknown pills he started urinating in the streets before falling over and breaking a glass bottle inside his pockets Kevin said it was upsetting alarming and clearly getting out of control Jessica and Kevin wanted to distance themselves and they had last seen him at about 1am the time frame for when he was killed was now getting smaller so where did he go officers asked the pair Anne had told them she would get them a taxi and take him to her apartment for some drinks there her building was Harbor View Apartments police now needed to talk to Ann Norris and to their shock hers was a name they actually knew but for nothing even remotely bad a lot of Anne's life had revolved around Sports and she was called a star athlete by people she was frequently in the local papers and on the news for her and her team's achievements she was a former basketball player having played on the Newfoundland and Labrador under 19's team and at the junior national championships and at the Canada games at the age of just 14 she was a top Contender for a spot on the national karate team soon gaining a black belt she had attended the University of Prince Edward Island and all seemed to be on the up for her but now years later she had dropped off the Athletics radar and things had taken a turn she had been charged with assaults and threatening people and had been in and out of various mental health clinics they pulled her in for questioning too she was cooperative and told the police that she had taken Marcel back to hers but he had refused to go inside as he wanted to carry on drinking in town she had tried to coax him in hoping they could have a few drinks there and he might just fall asleep but Marcel wasn't having any of it he wandered off looking to get into a nightclub she then went back into town and rejoined Kevin and Jessica at about 3 30 am she said she didn't see Marcel again and was shaken up by what had happened to him especially as this was just outside of her building she wondered if Marcel had changed his mind and gone back to hers realizing he wasn't going to get in anywhere and that sleeping it off was the best thing he could do but he had been met with someone outside that had maybe tried to Rob him or he had got into a drunken argument that had ended terribly Anne was upset and asked if she could leave officers didn't have any more questions so they let her go fortunately the streets were lined with cameras and they were making appeals for anyone that had been in the area at that time to come forward but no one had seen anything One camera from outside the bar showed Anne Marcel and Kevin walking about they were all by the taxis just as they had said and it was 12 44 am Marcel was wearing the same red sweater and appeared to be staggering and falling over with Anne trying to help him up at one point and then stopped to tell Kevin that she was taking Marcel back to hers before she and Kevin turned back on themselves walking away from Marcel Marcel stumbled into the back area of the bars to some stairs the pair helped him walk to the taxi and Anne got into the front seat [Music] foreign [Music] said goodbye to Anne through the window and Anna Marcel both drove off leaving Kevin at the bar this confirmed all the timelines so far and the taxi driver could prove that he had dropped them both off at Anne's apartment building and Jessica stayed in town buying a few things from a shop and bar hopping until about 3 30 am when they met back up with Anne just as Anne had said but now she was wearing different clothes [Music] Anne asked if she could take Jessica's backpack and she handed it over by this time Jessica was very intoxicated so she waited around while Kevin and Anne walked to get some cigarettes down by the harbor Kevin asked down why she had gone back with Marcel and she said he was being a little bit of a dick that night it was a mistake while Kevin smoked on the edge of the harbor he heard splashing around he turned to see Jessica's backpack floating in the water and said they needed to stay and watch it sink before they left and Kevin and Jessica then all headed to Anne's apartment to sleep just a few hours later when everyone woke up and told them they both had to get out and as they were leaving they ran into police officers and yellow tape outside the front of the building they had no idea the person they had been with just hours before was lying dead just a few feet away from them the backpack was very odd and it could not be overlooked that Marcel was found at Anne's apartment building they needed to locate this backpack and to their surprise they found it pretty easily [Music] inside the bag was some rope and some light colored jeans which were wrapped around a hammer inside the front pocket they found a wallet which linked to Jessica Peach how Ann got everything in there without anyone seeing or if they did is not known there still wasn't enough to make an arrest so detectives placed Anne under surveillance while a search warrant for her apartment was obtained they also realized that before Marcel was killed Anne was spotted hiding another backpack in a dumpster this contained two Cleavers Hammer some more rope a mallet and a flashlight there were also a load of cleaning products inside as well it was the same Hammer that was located in the harbor and the hammer they now believed was the murder weapon they finally got the search warrant they needed and entered her apartment which was almost totally empty but it didn't look like she was moving out it just looked like she lived there with nothing in it the apartment's superintendent Jack said she hadn't been there long a matter of days in fact he had met her on the 4th of May when she applied for one of the spaces her social worker had dropped off a check to pay the deposits and Jack learned that she had just left a psychiatric care facility when it came to moving in on the 6th of May Jack said Anne was extremely nervous and awkward and had turned up with just three bags of clothes and a teddy bear he said he felt really bad for her so he got her some couch cushions to sleep on and a blanket to put over her window some of the residents chipped in to get her some toiletries too Jack said she was very quiet and polite and he was beyond shocked that she could be involved in something like this in one of the rooms they found a light-colored scarf that she was wearing on the night Marcel had died and this had specks of blood on it in her bathroom bin they found something so crucial it would take Anne from being a person of interest to the only suspect in Marcel's murder a Walmart receipt time stamped at 10 40 pm on the very night she had been with Marcel and just hours before he would have been killed the receipt showed that a purchase was made for a knife and a hammer and sure enough the cameras at Walmart confirm this the caches described her as odds and her behavior unsettling foreign it was now the 13th of May and unbelievably the police that had an under surveillance suddenly called the station and said that she had returned to the same Walmart and was browsing the tools section again backup was now on the way and everyone was worrying that there could be a risk to someone in the store as she was waiting to pay the police team arrived ready to place Ann Norris under arrest for the murder of Marcel Reardon she was soon charged with first-degree murder and didn't try to deny anything and admitted that she had hit Marcel over the head several times that morning but she wasn't giving anyone a reason as to why she said she had killed him at her apartment and dragged his body under the stairs before running back into town to meet with Kevin and Jessica and unbeknownst to them to dispose of the evidence Marcel's family said they couldn't believe that Anne had done this all by herself Marcel was a big man and they doubted her ability to be able to drag him and hide him herself but police said they weren't looking for anyone else in the case and Anne said it was all on her a hearing was held to find whether there would be enough evidence to send this to trial and it was determined that there was things moved quickly and it took just four hours to select the jury members the now 30 year old's murder trial began on January 22 2018 I was in contact with the accused probably an hour or so ago Mr Buckingham spoke with a review of the telephone I spoke with her in person about 10 to 15 minutes before the matter was called This is Jonathan McDonald's at this time details are scarce we really can't offer much in the way in terms of the details but we can say that we have been retained by her and we will be representing her going forward despite admitting to killing him and Norris pleaded not guilty and her team was pushing for her to be found not criminally responsible an expert testified that Anne had spoken to him and he believed she had schizophrenia he said that she had seen Marcel as a threat for some reason that night from what she had told him Marcel had been sat on the steps outside possibly even falling asleep or passing out his back to the door Anne who was upstairs in her apartment got scared that Marcel was going to hurt her she grabbed the hammer she had just bought crept out behind him and beats him to death he said in her mind she was acting on some sort of preemptive self-defense but the prosecution were pushing for a first-degree murder conviction they said the evidence presented showed that she had clearly planned a very deliberate killing she admitted she had kept hitting Marcel until she was sure he was dead showing she knew she was going to kill him but continued her attack they said he was very drunk and incapacitated unable to fight her off or even really know what was happening until it was too late and if it was some sort of self-defense why hadn't she called for help after the fact and alerted someone instead she hid him away and disposed of the evidence to cover her tracks she had then continued to lie to the police in her first interview the prosecution argued that the preemptive hiding of the murder weapon and cleaning products had to be questioned her Father Brian testified that his daughter's mental health had started to decline and deteriorate after she told her parents she was going to the police about several alleged sexual assaults upon hearing this it was the only time that Anne showed any reaction in court and burst into tears Brian said that one night she called him begging him to come home when he got there she was hysterical and all the cupboard doors in the house were open or torn off she couldn't talk eventually writing on a piece of paper that she had been molested she said that she had been assaulted by one of her coaches and this had ended her future sports career she said she had also been assaulted by her ex-boyfriend claims he vehemently denied in court when she reported these incidents to the police they had big concerns about her mental health and her cases were put on hold her father said she had even accused him of assault she said when she realized it wasn't true she said what's wrong with me it feels so real Brian said she was convinced her family were trying to poison her and that people were breaking into her room while she slept she was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and psychotic symptoms while in the treatment facility just before she moved into the apartment block professionals inside said she would go from punching walls and being aggressive to laughing and joking with them they really didn't know what mood she was going to be in hour to hour whilst down had been in the women's correctional facility in Clarenville awaiting trial an informant had recorded a lot of their conversations in one Anne made up a rhyme singing goodnight Marcel and laughing about it the prosecution were left disappointed when most of these recordings were actually excluded and not allowed into evidence the judge said they didn't have any relevance and would have an excessive prejudicial impact on the jury this was a big blow for the prosecution as they argued it was completely relevant to the case after a month-long trial it was now up to the jury and people really had no idea as to which way it would go and Norris was found not criminally responsible Marcel's brother stormed out of the courtroom as the rest of his family cried one journalist in the courtroom said the verdict of not criminally responsible was so rare it really did shock people as so much has to be proven for this to be the case and alongside her own admissions it seemed to be quite a strange verdict following the verdicts the board had three options for those who were found not criminally responsible an absolute discharge a conditional discharge or detention with or without conditions Anne was placed in psychiatric care and it will be down to the Newfoundland and Labrador criminal mental disorder review board's discretion as to when she is released [Music] well obviously we're you know we thought it was the right results until we are here we're in the first place um certainly I wouldn't consider it a victory it's still a not from the responsible verdict it's uh it's not a winged by any you know starter but it's what we hope for it's what we thought was the right result do you think these were very tough uh issues for this jury to try and decide I think there are very tough issues I think the jury did an amazing job they were obviously very and I dedicated they paid a lot of detention they asked very smart questions they were um I think they took their role very seriously um and I think it's difficult for them to make the decision these are difficult issues with uh with no easy answers and I think the jury has looked at it and they came up with the not Community responsible verdict it has to be asked you know it was because there have been a lot of discussions with the law on here what's what's the likelihood of an appeal well as you know it's way too early to assess that situation now we've just got the verdict we have our 30 days to look at whether appeal is proper or necessary we'll review the way the trial unfolded and it discussed uh with myself and co-counsel and with our appeal section and we'll look at whether or not the appeal is necessary or Justified so that's a decision for another day less than four months after his testimony against Anne Kevin O'Brien was found dead in Saint John's Harbor Police said they did not suspect any Foul Play noting his addiction problems saying they thought he likely fell in and drowned the prosecution filed an appeal against the verdict with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador stating that evidence was improperly excluded from the trial the judging panel found that whilst it was an error to exclude the evidence it would have no effect on the jury's decision they also upheld the decision to disallow the audio recording from inside her cell it was ruled that there was no basis for a new trial still fighting at the end of 2019 the crown then took their appeal to the highest court in the country the Supreme Court of Canada but again it was dismissed right away and the Supreme Court gave no reason as to why Ann has never said what really transpired between the pair and her defense team say she might not even ever remember everybody will always be left guessing Marcel was laid to rest with his beloved Mother Evelyn lying side by side Jacqueline said she always looks at a picture that Marcel gave to her it is of a bridge over a peaceful lake at sunrise when he gave it to her he said this should remind you that everything is water under the bridge just let things go something she tries to live by for his sake and memory but with the feeling of no justice being served to let it go is a bitter pill to swallow Marcel's life had been spiraling and he was struggling to claw things back but he was trying his family said Marcel would have given you the shirt off his back and done anything for anyone he wanted to get better for his family and it is tragic to think that his life was ended before he even had a chance to make the changes he told people he so desperately wanted to [Music] we are so grateful to all of our viewers and all of our patrons and we'd love you to consider joining our little community over on patreon it supports us as a channel and we couldn't be more appreciative of anyone that does so it also gives you behind the scenes extra episodes and Early ad-free Access [Music] oh

Channel: Truly Criminal

Views: 307,538

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Id: UBD-Gv-W3Uw

Length: 30min 3sec (1803 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 05 2023