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Fredericton chief says police are making progress since collapse of two murder trials

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Digital, G. (2026, October 2). Fredericton chief says police are making progress since collapse of two murder trials. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/12085860/fredericton-chief-police-progress/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Global News · collected 2026-10-02 · by Globalnews Digital

Quick Summary

Gary Forward, Fredericton's chief of police, reported at a public safety committee meeting that significant changes have been made in response to an investigation into errors that led to the collapse of two murder trials last year. Since Ontario lawyer Ian D. Scott’s report was released late last year with 19 recommendations for improvements, the force has hired additional staff, introduced new training programs, and strengthened oversight measures. They are currently implementing 10 of Scott's recommendations and plan to complete all 19 by June next year.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The chief of police in Fredericton, Gary Forward, announced at a municipal public safety committee meeting on Thursday that significant changes have been made since an investigation into errors led to the Crown abandoning two murder trials last year. The cases involved Corey Christopher Markey, 41, from Woodstock, N.B., and Brandon Patrick Donelan, 27, both of whom were murdered in Fredericton. On December 21, 2021, Markey was shot on Paul Street in Sitansisk First Nation. Forward stated that the police force has hired new staff, introduced training, and improved oversight measures based on 19 recommendations made by Ontario lawyer Ian D. Scott, with plans to complete all recommendations by June of next year.

Written for “Fredericton Murder Trials Collapse Pr…” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Fredericton Murder Trials Collapse Pr…
Crime & Law · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 64/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Global News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Global News · 2626 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Globalnews Digital
701 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
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Topics

Crown Forward Fredericton Ontario the Canada Evidence Act

Subjects

Fredericton GPE · 4× Scott PERSON · 4× Crown ORG · 2× Donelan PERSON · 2× Forward ORG · 2× Markey PERSON · 2× Gary Forward PERSON · 1× Ian D. Scott PERSON · 1× Ontario GPE · 1× the Court of King’s Bench ORG · 1×

Narrative

The collapse of the trials before they began in the Court of King’s Bench meant no one was convicted for the murders of 41-year-old Corey Christopher Markey, originally from Woodstock, N.B., and 27-year-old Brandon Patrick Donelan of Fredericton.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 Forward said the municipal police force has begun discussions with other New Brunswick police forces to explore whether a provincial investigative unit for homicides could work, as per Scott’s recommendations.

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

The chief of police in Fredericton says the force has made significant changes after an investigation into an error that forced the Crown to abandon two murder trials last year. asserted
that → say → trials
Gary Forward told a municipal public safety committee meeting Thursday that the police force had hired staff, introduced new training and implemented better oversight measures. asserted
force → tell → measures
The moves were in line with 19 recommendations made by Ontario lawyer Ian D. Scott, as part of his review of the cases. asserted
moves → make → cases
Scott released his report late last year, saying an “insurmountable evidentiary issue” brought both cases to an end, though he included few details, citing the Canada Evidence Act. asserted
he → release → Act
Forward said the police force has implemented 10 of Scott’s recommendations, and it is on track to complete all 19 by June of next year. asserted
it → say → year
The collapse of the trials before they began in the Court of King’s Bench meant no one was convicted for the murders of 41-year-old Corey Christopher Markey, originally from Woodstock, N.B., and 27-year-old Brandon Patrick Donelan of Fredericton. asserted
one → begin → Fredericton
On Dec. 21, 2021, Markey was shot on Paul Street in Sitansisk First Nation, on the north side of the Saint John River in Fredericton. asserted
Markey → shoot → Fredericton
He died in hospital eight days later. asserted
He → die → hospital
Donelan was reported missing in January 2022, and his body was found in a wooded area off a snowmobile trail northeast of Fredericton on March 31, 2022. asserted
body → report → March
The Fredericton Police Force led the investigation into Markey’s death, and the RCMP investigated Donelan’s killing. asserted
RCMP → lead → killing
Scott’s report made it clear the mistake made by the municipal police force prompted the Crown to scuttle both cases. asserted
mistake → make → cases
Forward said the municipal police force has begun discussions with other New Brunswick police forces to explore whether a provincial investigative unit for homicides could work, as per Scott’s recommendations. uncertain
unit → say → recommendations
He said he would provide another update to the city early next year. asserted
he → say → city
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