page_title: Shedden massacre
section_title: Legal proceedings
hierarchical_section_title: Shedden massacre / Legal proceedings
caption_attribution_description: English: Wayne Kellestine protests against the London, Ontario Gay Pride parade in 2005. Photo by Michael McGregor, 2005.
context_page_description: The Shedden massacre involved the gang-related killing of eight men, whose bodies were found in a field five kilometres north of Shedden, a small village in the Canadian province of Ontario, on April 8, 2006. Four vehicles, with the bodies inside, were first discovered by a farmer. The day after the bodies were discovered, five people, including one member of the Bandidos motorcycle gang, were arrested for the murders, and three more people were arrested in June 2006. The Ontario Provincial Police said the killings were an isolated event and there were no fears for the safety of local residents. The name "Shedden massacre" is, in fact, a misnomer as the massacre took place at a farm outside of Iona Station and Shedden was just the hamlet closest to where the bodies were discovered in a farmer's field.
context_section_description: Eric Niessen, 45, and his common-law wife Kerry Morris, 47, both from Monkton, Ontario, were initially charged with first degree murder, but police dropped those charges on May 6, and they were instead charged with eight counts of being accessories after the fact. Facing first-degree murder charges, Niessen and Morris, abandoned the alibi they had given Kellestine, stating that they were not present at his farm on the night of the murders as they had no desire to go to prison for the rest of their lives. Both Niessen and Morris pledged guilty to obstructing justice on 15 October 2007, admitting they had given Kellestine a false alibi and helped him destroy evidence, being sentenced to two years in prison. Morris complained afterwards to the media: "It's been horrible, Absolutely horrible. My life's been destroyed...Friends, they've just turned their backs". Kellestine is a full member of the Bandidos; he and the other four suspects were all arrested at his residence, which is only a few kilometres from the crime scene. A male minor was also questioned, with no credible evidence supporting involvement in the murders. The surrounding Elgin County has a history of biker gang activity, though not of major crime.
  On June 16, 2006, police in Winnipeg arrested three additional men, all from that city, in connection with the killings:
  Dwight Mushey, 36
  Marcello Aravena, 30
  Michael Sandham, 36
  Police said that Sandham and Mushey were full members of the club, and Aravena was a prospective member. Sandham, who was also believed to be the leader of the Winnipeg Bandidos chapter, is a former police officer. In 2002, he was suspended from the force in the Winnipeg-area community of East St. Paul and then resigned. Sources told CBC News that Members of the RCMP provided his force with photos of him attending a Bandidos function while on leave from work.
  The three were delivered into OPP custody and transported to St. Thomas, Ontario for a court appearance that afternoon. All were charged with eight counts of first-degree murder. A woman, whom police refused to identify, was also arrested but was not charged. Police also seized an SUV for forensic testing in Ontario. After his arrest, Sandham denied 223 times to OPP Sergeant Mick Bickerton who was questioning him that he was involved in the massacre, claiming he was not even in Ontario at the time of the killings, instead maintaining that he was raking leaves in front of his Winnipeg home on the weekend of the massacre, despite the fact there are no trees on the street that Sandham lived on. Sandham also denied to Bickerton that he was a member of the Bandidos, saying he had left the club in 2005.
  Before the trial started, Sandham had tried to cut a deal with the Crown, where in exchange for total immunity he would testify against the others, but the Crown refused. On 29 December 2006, Sandham changed his story, now telling Bickerton he had been present at the massacre and wanted immunity in exchange for his testimony, portraying himself as a man who tried to stop the massacre. The story that Sandham told Bickerton was full of erroneous information such as Sandham's statement that there was a river running through the Kellestine farm. When Bickerton asked Sandham about why he had brought rubber gloves to Kellestine's farm if he was not planning to kill anyone, Sandham looked confused before saying "not for that" without making any further attempt at any explanation for the purpose of his rubber gloves. Sandham also accused M.H of killing Sinopoli and Kriarakis with a shotgun, but forensic tests showed that both Sinopoli and Kriarakis were killed with handguns. Bickerton told Sandham that "I'm having a hard time believing you", stating that Sandham's story was full of lies, but noted that the Crown would pass along Sandham's statement to the defense lawyers of the other accused as it is normal for the Crown to disclose all evidence to the defense lawyers before a trial. When Sandham learned that the Crown would not be making a deal with him, he broke down in tears, crying hysterically t
caption: Wayne Kellestine, Bandidos member, was convicted in connection with the Shedden massacre.
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